Hentai Shinji
by gmgurp666
Summary: Decided to try my hand at a M rated story. What if Shinji was introduced to a form of art other than music. This is for all those people who want more "suggestive details, wink wink nudge nudge". Hope you like it.
1. Chapter 1: Shinji's New Art

Hentai Shinji Chapter 1: Shinji's New Art

Shinji Ikari, quiet type, loner, lacking completely in social  
skills. This is the Lie, the illusion projected for all to see.

Shinji's mother was a brilliant scientist working on the  
Evangelion project. She was also a loving wife and mother,  
devoted to her project in order to protect her family. She  
also had a devious creative streak, finding pleasure through  
sexual experimentation in her husband's arms.

Shinji's father was a ruthless strategist, moving the pieces  
of the largest game in human history with a coldness that  
would assure victory. He loved his wife, so much so that he  
would remake the world for the guarantee of her safety. Her  
personal tastes helped to ignite his passion for life. With her  
absorption into unit one he found that fire died to nothing  
almost instantly.

Gendo Ikari could no longer display honest emotions because  
he lacked them entirely. He sent his son away to protect him  
from what he must do to complete Yui's work. Yui's sister and  
her husband were the best choice. They had recently lost their  
son, Gendo thought maybe the boy could help fill that gap.  
Unfortunately for Shinji the wounds left by his cousin's death  
were too fresh. He received a cold reception that only got worse.  
It was this environment into which Shinji's generic heritage awoke.  
He started planning within the horizons of a teenagers mind, and  
then the event that changed his life forever came to pass.

Sitting in class one day he was drawing listlessly. His mind drifted  
out of the class, floating through the many plans he already had.  
His consciousness was snapped back to the present by the teacher  
standing over him.

Shinji blinked, looking around he realized the rest of the class was  
gone, leaving him alone with his teacher.

He looked back at her and noticed the nice amount of cleavage  
thrust into view by her bending over his desk to put her face  
within inches of his. Mio Tanaka was in her late twenties with a  
kind face that had blossomed into beauty during the half decade  
following Second Impact. This had changed what would have been  
innocent beauty into the Valkyrie attractiveness necessary to survive  
those times. Her figure was athletic without becoming stocky, causing  
her to have a tight buttocks and shapely legs covered by a forest  
green dress that extended to her mid calf. Her bust was above  
average without being cumbersomely large, and the neckline of her  
dress displayed a modest amount of cleavage when she stood straight.  
The total package was capable of looking both like she could lift a man  
to the heights of pleasure or plunge him into the depths of pain.

Right now she looked like she was ready to do both. She tapped  
the paper he had been drawing on,"While I appreciate your attention  
to detail Shinji, your attention to my class would be better."

Shinji bowed his head and glanced at the picture his hands had drawn.  
He saw a split image, both of Miss Tanaka standing before the class.  
The left one showed a frontal view of her in the dress she now wore.  
It had significant differences from her. The dress had a deeper neckline,  
revealing much more of the fuller breasts underneath. The skirt showed  
a scandalous amount of shapely thigh, being much higher than reality.

The picture on the right showed a back view of her in the same dress,  
slightly bent over to show the full curvature of her buttocks. He thought  
that the picture was rather good, if a little amateurish. It did call  
attention to her best physical qualities.

Shinji felt that maintaining his facade was the best way out of this.  
So swelling with pride at the picture and the compromising position  
his teacher had assumed over him, he summoned his meekest voice,  
"I'm sorry Miss Tanaka. I don't know what came over me, I promise  
it will never happen again." He dipped his head as much as he could  
without bumping her chest. The smile on his face perfectly hidden by  
the placating gesture. He was so loving the closeness, causing her  
aroma to hit him full force. Hints of mint, eucalyptus, and cherry  
blossom mixed with a sweet smell that must have been her's.  
The scent was pushing his teenage hormones to new heights,  
causing him to bulge under his desk.

She stood up and walked back to her desk, swaying her hips  
sensuously for the young man who had taken notice. She bent  
down and got a book out of her desk, setting the book on the  
desk she looked him in the eyes,"This may help you improve your  
artistic skills. Please don't stop, I like your work." With that she  
walked to the door and blew him a kiss before opening the door,  
affixing her professional look, and stepping out.

Shinji sat there for five minutes as his pants returned to their  
normal shape. Then he stood and gathered his things, careful  
not to wrinkle the picture. He then walked to Miss Tanaka's desk  
and picked up the book. Advanced Drawing Techniques. He hoped  
it would help.

Leaving the school he felt a warm feeling throughout his body, he  
could not believe how lucky he was, his Aunt would have gone  
ballistic if he were expelled for drawing sensual pictures of a teacher.

The weekend passed with Shinji sequestered in his room, studying  
the book in great detail. Each time he finished a chapter he produced  
a new rendition of the picture he had drawn in class. By Sunday  
evening he had finished the book and refined the picture to perfection.  
He had duplicated every detail of her body, and then reproduced her  
dress with only minor modifications. The effect was even more attractive  
than his original exaggerated image. He added a cluster of cherry  
blossoms, with mint and eucalyptus leaves around it, to her hair.

Shinji sat back and admired the finished work. He slid it into a large  
envelope, sealed it and wrote the name Mio Tanaka on it. Then he  
slid it in his bag with the rest of his school supplies, got undressed  
and slipped into bed. The smile on his face refused to fade as his  
imaginings slipped into his dreams.

Monday went well, Shinji occasionally glancing around the room  
looking for his next subject. Finally he spotted her, the vision of  
beauty he was looking for. Her hair was a cascade of platinum  
falling to her waist, pulled back by a single blue ribbon. Her figure  
was lithe and fluid as she moved gracefully from the room, not  
even noticing the extra attention. The mature traits she would  
one day have were beginning to show through her dress, but  
their final form was far from set.

Shinji grabbed his bag and walked to the teachers desk. She  
looked up as he approached,"Yes Shinji, what can I do for you?"

He extracted the envelope and book from his bag and handed  
them over,"I thought you might like to have this ma'am."He  
bowed deeply and hurried from the room.

Mio opened the envelope and pulled out the redone picture.  
She stared in amazement, remembering the rough copy she  
had been tempted to confiscate. This copy made her happy  
she hadn't, the proportions were exactly right this time, and  
the whole effect gave her a slight narcissistic twinge. She felt  
heat rise from between her legs into her middle at the thought  
of being so desirable to a young man only a couple of years  
from the age of consent.

Miss Tanaka placed the picture in her bag and grabbed a sticky  
note. Sticking it to the cover of the book she wrote on it,

Dearest Shinji, I loved the picture you gave me. It reminded me  
of a part of myself I had thought gone since the death of my  
husband. Thank you so much for this gift. Please keep this  
book, it seems to be a great help for you.

Lovingly,  
Mio

Thinking of something else she grabbed another note and placed  
it under the first.

P.S.: There is an art contest in about a month. I think you should  
join but perhaps your subject should be something less sensual.

Meanwhile Shinji was outside eating his lunch with one hand and  
making notes and sketches of the two girls sitting across the way  
from him. One was the platinum blond he had spotted in class, the  
other was a plain looking girl with brown hair. By themselves one  
was stunning and the other was cute, together they just meshed.  
This produced a pair that were the object of many boy's affection,  
but one boy had other plans.

Shinji was putting together a story about a beautiful Mage and her  
lusty Knight companion. The story continued to form in his mind as  
he watched the two girls talk and laughed.

Then the bell rang and they all returned to class. Taking his seat  
Shinji reached into his desk to extract his books and found the  
teacher's present. He read the note and smiled before finishing  
his preparations for the afternoon's lessons.

This time he managed to stay focused on the here and now as  
he made sketches and jotted down notes, both to be refined  
later. As the afternoon class came to a close he finished the  
outline for the third installment of his story. The gist was a knight  
with too much libido and not enough willing women around hooks  
up with a beautiful Elvin Sorceress who is trying to find a magical  
artifact that will allow her to save her people from a natural  
disaster they were facing.

He also planned enough plot twists to keep even the most celibate  
guys interested. For everyone else there was lots of sex.

Shinji had a rather broad education, owing to the fact that his Uncle  
had an extensive library. This gave him access to a wide variety of  
topics, including psychology, physiology, art, math, and physics. This  
was what his guardians knew about him reading. The young Ikari  
had recently added material on photographic memory techniques,  
political theory, business, and tantra. He had not yet had the  
opportunity to put this knowledge to any practical use, but drawing  
opened several avenues previously unexplored by the teenage genius.

Shinji wanted to be successful at his new hobby for a number of reasons,  
ranging from recognition to monetary gain. He began evaluating his  
previous plans and how they could fit into the new skills he was building.  
Finding many things much easier to accomplish with extra money, he  
focused more energy on both the public and private side of art. The  
public side would yield only small amounts of money while being safe  
from any form of censure. The private side could produce large amounts  
of money, provided he could keep from getting caught.

And so Shinji Ikari decided to become a landscape artist as his public  
persona. Entering a breathtaking view of the small city where he lived,  
done from the nearby mountains, as his piece for consideration. He had  
picked the moments just before sunset, as the sunlight flowed red over  
the city.

While he was scouting a good vantage point to do this piece he stumbled  
upon a small cave, more of a large hemisphere of missing rock, in the  
appropriate side of the mountain. The indentation had the look of machining,  
possibly from a tunnel that had been started here. But weathering of the  
edges suggested the project had been abandoned over a decade earlier.  
Shinji turned to look over the city and found the perfect vantage from which  
to work.

The next afternoon he spent getting the supplies he needed, several pieces  
of canvas, an assortment of brushes and paints, an easel and the most  
comfortable stool he could find. He was forming another shopping list, this  
one would have to be broken down into smaller bundles, purchased over  
time and assembled to make a small enclave from which to launch his new  
found talents in new directions.

The contest was close, Shinji had spent every day working on the painting.  
He completed several versions before he was finally satisfied with his skill  
and began the copy he would present. As Shinji sat with his aunt and uncle  
at the awards ceremony he could feel their pride in him for bringing some  
honor to their home. His guardians had seen his dedication over the weeks  
leading up to this event. His drive had reminded his aunt of her son,  
awakening the maternal instincts buried deep within her. Shinji's uncle  
felt the young man was proving to be more than a pint sized copy of his  
father. The man had abandoned his son after Yui's death, running away  
from his responsibility. He had expected the boy to give up after a few  
days, but he had stuck. The skill he had developed over that time had  
produced a work of art equal to some of the best he had ever seen.

Both of them saw no reason Shinji should not take first prize. The other  
pieces entered represented the best the town had to offer, from other  
teenagers to adults who had been working for decades. But Shinji was  
in a whole different class, his work representing a world class artist.

Finally the time had come,"And the first prize goes to Shinji Ikari for his  
work "Sunset Over The City""

Shinji looked appropriately shocked, his aunt and uncle clapped and  
smiled at him. Finally he stood and proceeded toward the stage,  
mounting the stairs with an easy pace that conveyed an anxious  
nature. Shinji was neither shocked nor anxious, he simply projected  
these to keep up the persona he had so carefully constructed.

He accepted the prize and bowed deeply to the announcer and  
then to the audience. When he returned to the table he bowed  
to his guardians,"I could not have done this without you, thank  
you for your support."

They inclined their heads and he sat. The rest of the ceremony  
was uneventful for him, other contests were announced, prizes  
given, and when it was all over they left for home.

On the way home Shinji spoke from the back seat,"I will need to  
go to the bank tomorrow to cash the check. Then I can pay you  
back for the supplies."

His uncle changed lanes and then spoke,"Your aunt and I have  
decided to make the supplies a gift to you. You have made us  
very proud tonight Shinji, and you have brought honor to your  
family. No matter what your father is, you will grow up to be a  
good man."

Shinji smiled, not only was it good to be praised by his guardians,  
but keeping all the money they spent on him would greatly  
accelerate his plans."Thank you both. Your have always been  
so kind. I will continue to make you proud."

That weekend Shinji went with his uncle to set up an account  
for him. His uncle felt no need to put any limits on the boy, due  
to his responsible nature.

Shinji did not betray this trust, drawing out only a quarter of  
the money to go shopping for the first part of his list. When  
they returned home that evening he had purchased a laptop,  
printer, scanner, and a sizable quantity of paper and ink. His  
uncle had made only minor suggestions on the purchases,  
trying to help Shinji make the most of his money without hindering  
his creative side by placing any boundaries on him. Shinji had  
bought only as high quality as was needed in both the laptop  
and scanner, while getting a higher quality printer.

Shinji assembled the electronics in his bedroom that evening,  
being sure to keep all the cords as neat as possible. By dinner  
he had already scanned in and touched up the first installment  
of the comic that had been born of the ethereal beauty and her  
friend he sat between in class.

* * *

Canalel was a Elven sorceress who had only recently reached  
adulthood by the standards of the her people. Where she still  
had some growing to do, her beauty could not be denied by  
any who looked at her. Her most striking feature was her  
platinum hair that flowed down her back, tied into a tight  
braid for traveling. Her face still held the soft curves of youth  
unmarred by the hardships of a long life in a harsh world. Her  
body was tall and slim, with a small bust and butt all wrapped  
in a tight leather dress meant for traveling. Her legs were long  
and thin, half covered by the dress, the other half by her high  
leather boots.

Her gear was light and the only weapons she had were a short  
bow and a rapier. Her magical skills made carrying many supplies  
unnecessary, but she had a small amount of each, just in case.  
Her quest had led her away from her home three months ago  
searching for an artifact that might help dampen the tremors  
their valley had been experiencing with increasing frequency  
for the past year. So far she had not had any solid leads but  
was going to the largest city she knew of to look for anything  
that might be of help.

Today she was traveling through a wooded region that reminded  
her of home, not noticing when a light bludgeon was hurled at the  
base of her skull. The blunt object struck her exactly where it's  
skilled master had willed it to, rendering her instantly unconscious.  
Canalel was bound and gagged, then a wizard emerged and sealed  
her powers with a rather perverse spell.

It was in this state that she awoke on the floor of a dungeon, lying  
across from a cute brown hared human girl of nineteen or twenty.  
The muscular form had been striped to her underwear in order to  
find all of the weapons she had hidden on her. This displayed the  
delicious figure of the girl quite well, with the only cover a cloth  
wrap and panty. Her breasts were only slightly below average,  
but looked larger due to her small form. Her arms and legs were  
well covered in tight muscle groups that demonstrated the power  
of her body. She went over to the Elf as she woke, removing her  
gag and bindings,"My name is Rioho. Do not move too much, you  
have been out for several hours and the headache may take even  
longer to pass."

"My name is Canalel, of the valley of Morstaf. Thank you for your  
assistance, but where are we?"

"We are the guests of a man named Baros. His tender kindness  
shall 'endear' him to you as soon as you are deemed healthy  
enough. Probably they will begin tomorrow."

"So I am to be raped. Not if I have anything to say about it."  
She stood and began moving her hands through the air, then  
stopped. She could feel her magical energy trying to get past  
the seal placed on it. But without the trigger, she could do  
nothing even as simple as lighting a match. She slumped  
against the wall.

"Don't feel so bad, there is always a chance. We just have  
to watch for it." Rioho commented as she sat next to the  
defeated magic user.

"How can you be so optimistic?"

"Well I could just give up, but I think I just enjoy annoying  
that sadistic bastard when I refuse to break."

"How long have you withstood it?"

"Today makes it four weeks. He might have gotten through  
to me but he's not my type."

Canalel sobbed at the thought of being forcibly taken for four  
weeks straight,"So what is your type?"

"You actually." This simple statement shocked Canalel for a  
moment. Then she realized it would probably be the only  
voluntary contact she would ever know. Why not, the petite  
girl was not unattractive. Rioho reached out a hand to touch  
the side of the elf's face and was reassured when she did  
not pull away, but pressed her cheek into the contact.

Rioho gently brushed the hair back from Canalel's ear and  
slowly traced the outer edge with her finger. The elf shivered  
slightly as spasms of pleasure chased down her spine. Her  
eyes closed as the young fighter moved closer and pressed  
her mouth to Canalel's neck, slowly tracing the lines down  
and then back up.

Canalel reached for the other girls chest and slowly undid  
the wrap. The firm breasts were responsive under her touch,  
nipples becoming hard almost instantly. They kissed, their  
hands exploring each others bodies, causing pleasure to  
course between them. Finally Rioho was pleasuring Canalel  
when the sorceress climaxed and felt the magical seal break.  
The two events happening at once momentarily dazed her,  
she collapsed. Rioho held her close,"Was that your first time?"

"Yes, but more than that, you have broken the magical seal  
keeping me from leveling this whole place."

"Climax was the trigger huh, I suppose that makes sense.  
The prick never lets me get mine before I'm carted off back  
here."Rioho looked lustily at her companion,"Dose this mean  
we have to stop to let you destroy the castle now?"

Canalel caught the tone of longing in the other girl's voice,  
"Not just yet." And went to work on Rioho with all the  
emotion she felt toward the young beauty.

Several hours they lay in a naked crumpled heap on the  
floor. There marathon had left them exhausted and perfectly  
content. Then a man came to the bars and admired them  
before saying,"I hoped you enjoyed yourselves ladies but  
fun time is just beginning. Rioho, get off your ass, it's time  
for today's session."

Canalel levitated off the floor, pure rage burning in her  
eyes,"Oh, I don't think so." Her voice crackled with energy  
as she yanked the guard forward into the bars. It was  
definitely not a good day to be a bad guy in Keep Juhal.

* * *

Shinji finished preparing the first installment for delivery  
to his distributors at school the next day. He had been  
told that there were already over a hundred pre-orders  
just from the samples he had let them hand out.

This part of his plan was going well, if it continued at this  
pace he could probably begin purchasing materials for his  
workshop next week.

With all the preparations for school tomorrow finished he  
got undressed and went to bed. This time he held pictures  
of all his female classmates in his mind and took two away.  
Mentally leafing through the rest he searched for his next  
subject.

* * *

Here it is. My first M work. Hope you like it and let me know if I need to include more "suggestive details, wink wink nudge nudge."

Thanks again to my wife for proofing this for me. She says this is her favorite of all the ones I've done so far.


	2. Chapter 2: Eros

Hentai Shinji Chapter 2: Eros

AN: Thanks to everyone who read this story, it is my most successful yet, getting almost 400 hits in the first twelve hours. Also since so many people have commented about the format I have decided to stop doing it that way. And finally Electric Eclectic, no she is not going to appear in one of his stories, but she does get a full scene here. Enjoy.

Shinji spent the last month of the school year setting things up for the summer, arranging deliveries with all his distributors. He also rented some space on a server and established a website, allowing him to add to his relatively small market. He set up an on line bank account to handle any revenue generated from the website. He structured the site in the same way as his regular business, registration granted access to sample pictures. Getting to the actual series he was putting out required purchasing each separately.

Shinji was unprepared for the volume of response, the first week saw a hundred register, with a few dozen purchases. This number tripled the next week, and again the next.

This gave Shinji an impressive amount of money to work with and he put it to good use. He purchased the land his overlook was on and payed to have a camouflaged prefab structure erected on it. He bought some furniture to provide the proper work environment.

With all this done he started spending most of his time on the weekend here, working or sleeping as the feeling struck him. He told his guardians he was hiking and camping in the mountains, looking for inspiration for his next work.

This was partly true, he spent an hour each day hiking through different paths. He also spent time lifting weights and doing aerobics. This was all part of a plan to slowly alter his facade, becoming more attractive to the girls, and more intimidating to the boys. He did not wish to bulk up, just add some muscle.

By the end of the school year he could definitely feel the stairs of girls on his butt when he walked down the hall. He also noticed Miss Tanaka blushing when he stood and spoke in class. He received several notes from girls on the last day of school, all asking for dates.

As the bell rang he stood and began packing his things. Shinji did this with great care, being sure to take as long as possible, waiting for the room to empty of his classmates.

One girl lingered for a few extra seconds to steal a look at his body before stepping out and closing the door behind her.

Still Shinji packed his bag, waiting for a sign. He heard a click. He looked up to see Mio standing by the door, one hand locking it, the other pulling the blind. She turned and leaned her back against it, bending her leg to place her foot on the door. This had the effect of hiking her skirt up, revealing the tops of her stockings were held up by black garters with red kanji embroidered on them.

Mio felt the heat rising within her from having Shinji look at her legs. She used her hand to draw his eyes up toward her face,"I'm glad you waited until we could be alone. I have noticed the other girls looking at you, and it makes me a little jealous." She walked toward him, swaying her hips slowly."I know you'll be going to a different school next year, and I just wanted a chance to say thank you for reminding me how it feels to be a woman."

She was right in front of him, leaning over to put her cleavage right in his face, undoing the top two buttons of her blouse to reveal even more. Shinji kissed the tops of her breasts, causing her to shiver with pleasure. He then pulled back and gazed into her eyes,"Mio, please meet me here," He pressed a folded map into her hand,"and I promise to finish what we have started." He kissed her neck, working down to the tops of her breasts again. Then he kissed lower, circling back up as her whole body shuddered.

Shinji finished by kissing her lips and feeling her probing tongue trace against his own mouth. He opened to her and they stood joined for an eternity. She pushed back from him and looked into his eyes,"It's a promise." She turned slowly and made a show of leaving the room, repairing her appearance as she went. As she opened the door she was once again prim and proper Miss Tanaka. Shinji followed a few moments later, perfectly displaying his controlled facade.

A few days later Shinji made good on his promise. He was sitting at his desk in his hideout when a knock sounded at the door. Shinji was wearing a tight fitting tee shirt and loose nylon shorts. The new muscles of his chest were traced by the shirt while the shorts showed the athletic legs underneath.

He moved to the door and opened it, finding Mio standing on the other side, dressed in a long trench coat that was obviously meant to conceal her clothing rather than keep her warm. He motioned for her to come in and bolted the door behind her. He turned to see her throwing the jacket onto the back of his chair.

Under it she wore a black spaghetti strap dress tied behind her neck. It was tight fitting and came down a few inches below her bottom, which was displayed in full prominence under the material. She turned slowly to face him and the front of her body came into view. The neckline dipped down to her abdomen, showing her flat stomach and stopping just below her navel. She had no bra on and her breasts were pressed together by the tight fabric, revealing the most cleavage possible without her being naked. Which he suspected she would be soon enough.

He stepped up to her and ran his hands down her neck, out her shoulders, and down to her elbows. She flushed and shivered from the contact, feeling the warmth between her legs rise into her abdomen, giving her a fuzzy feeling.

He pulled her toward him and instantly found himself with her fingers interlaced in his hair forcing his mouth to hers. Their tongues took turns exploring each others mouths while his hands played up and down her spine.

She loosened her hold and he moved to kissing her neck, nibbling lightly. She ran her hands down to his back and gently pressed her long nails into his shirt. He shifted to his right to move his mouth to her shoulder and brought his left hand around to her breast, stroking gently. Her nipple became instantly hard under his caress and he pinched through the dress. She brought one of her legs up to wrap around his waist, grinding her hip into his, feeling his erection pressing into her bare thigh.

Shinji continued to kiss down her front, finding the top of her breast and pressing his tongue in there. She moved her hand to the back of his head and gently stroked his hair as she let out a low moan. Shinji reached up with his right hand and undid her dress strap while using his left to reveal her breast. He moved his mouth over the nipple and flicked his tongue over the hard flesh, closing his lips around it to suck lightly. Mio griped his head tightly to her breast and he sucked harder, causing her to arch her head hack and moan loudly. He moved his hand down to her inner thigh and she loosened her legs to permit him access. He ran his hand up, touching her warm pelvic mound. The thin lace material of her panties was soaked through and the wetness had started to spread down her leg. After a few minutes Mio pushed him away and reached to remove his shirt. Then knelt down to remove his shorts. Standing before him she slipped the dress off her body and let it pool on the floor. Then she removed her soaked underwear, revealing the smooth skin beneath. They stood admiring each other for several minutes, him bare and her in stockings and the same garters she had worn in class.

She led him to the bed and lay across it with her legs up, looking pleadingly into his eyes. He nodded and knelt before her leaning close. She crossed her legs behind his back and Shinji went to work, the sweet scent of her he had first caught in class filling him with a primal desire he did not wish to control. She climaxed instantly due to the long sensual buildup and Shinji found himself unable to breath as her hands held him tightly to her. Her legs squeezed his head until he felt it would burst, but he ignored the pressure and suffocation, working to drive her higher and higher. She screamed, her pitch getting ever higher the longer it was maintained, until her voice broke and the tone shifted to a raged call to all the gods of passion.

Her body relaxed and Shinji took a slow deep breath, readying himself for his next assault. He dove into her again and her back arched as she moaned. Her climax built for several minutes until finally releasing. He continued this for half an hour until she pushed him away from her and held him there, gasping for breath.

From this angel he could make out the kanji on her garters. One said 'Welcome Shinji, make yourself at home.' The other 'Private property, trespassers will be fucked.' Shinji was touched, if a little surprised to find his name on one of them. He looked up into her glazed over eyes and smiled. Mio was relieved, mainly because she meant to leave that one with him when the night was over, not trying to trap him. She decided to get back to the nights activities.

Mio stood up and sat Shinji on the bed, pushing him back into a reclined position. She maintained eye contact as she spread his legs and leaned over his groin. Shinji's whole body spasmed from the never before felt sensation attacking his nervous system. His back arched and she pressed on, forcing him to further highs. After several minutes she pulled away and and reached under one of her garters. Shinji shivered as she applied the protection, still over sensitized by the stimulation.

Mio crawled up over him and straddled his waist, kissing up his chest to his mouth. They kissed deeply and she ground her hips into his.

They loved passionately for hours, occasionally taking breaks to give Shinji time to recover between sessions. They saw the first rays of morning light filtering in through the narrow windows as they collapsed next to each other and curled together before passing out.

That afternoon they said goodbye warmly and she pressed the garter with his name on it into his hand. He kissed it and breathed her aroma deeply into his lungs, letting it mingle into his soul.

Mio smiled,"Dearest Shinji, thank you for showing me what it is to be desired again." She hugged him,"I hope you meet someone special to share the rest of your life with someday. I'm sure any woman you end up with will be very happy." She kissed him on the cheek and left, contented for the first time in a too long.

Shinji wrapped the garter in a silk cloth and placed it in a small lock box. Then he cleaned up the evidence of the nights festivities, relishing the memories and emotions as they washed over him in the aftermath.

Shinji then resumed the work that had been so pleasantly interrupted. It was a continuation of his previous story.

**_Canalel and Rioho departed the city of Langual after selling their take from the keep and looking for any leads in the magic users search. They found some information pointing toward a city known as Gachja far to the south. Apparently some work had been done their on causing earthquakes, perhaps the opposite could be done as well._**

**_The lovers had no idea of the creature currently stalking them, released by their actions._**

**_Canalel laughed at her friend's joke,"Well, maybe you should have tried the longer 'blade' for that." They both giggled._**

**_Rioho looked lovingly at the ethereal creature,"You know, I thought there were so few of us. I had only ever heard stories of our kind and believed myself destined to be alone forever. Now I have you, and life seems brighter some how."_**

**_"I know what you mean, but I was not this way until you showed how tender a woman can be. I still wonder about men but am in no great rush to experience the brutality you went through."_**

**_"Don't get me wrong, some guys can be gentle and fell great. Not all of them are rapist bastards. But since a woman knows what feels good to her she, is in most ways, able to satisfy better. And there are ways to simulate the male presence. The main problem is that so many guys are unwilling or just too unskilled to get you there."_**

**_They continued talking as the forest passed around them, the conversation drifting from one subject to another._**

**_As the light through the trees turned orange they came upon a campsite that had apparently been used many times by travelers along this road. They dismounted and tied up their horses, retrieving the necessary items to make camp. When the setup was done Canalel went to the nearby stream to draw water for dinner, planning a hearty meal for their first night on the trail after such a lucrative haul. She returned to the camp site and found Rioho waiting for her,"Why don't you get out of your armor and go enjoy a nice bath in the stream while I get dinner ready. It must be uncomfortable after so long being in just your underwear."_**

**_Rioho nodded and began loosening the leather straps that held the breastplate to her. Canalel split her attention between chopping vegetables and her lover as the layers were removed. Rioho's figure becoming more apparent as the plate and chain mail were set aside. Then she loosened the straps on her leather tunic and brought it over her head. This left her top half in nothing more than what she had worn at their meeting. She repeated the process for her lower half and was soon all but naked. Then she grabbed her supplies and headed for the stream. It was enough of a river for her to wade in up to her chest, which was now bare. She scrubbed throughly with the scented soaps they had purchased with some of their excess money. It felt good to have someone she wanted to be at her best for, even if it did mean a little more work._**

**_When she returned Canalel had just put the last of the ingredients in to the purified water and was loosening her traveling clothes. Rioho walked up behind her and slipped her hands into the well endowed woman's tunic. She moaned in response and reached back for her friend. After half a minute spent to their mutual enjoyment Rioho kissed the point of the elf's ear and whispered,"Your turn my love, I'll keep an eye on things here."_**

**_Canalel carefully removed her clothes, giving her warrior a good show, then sauntered away, swaying with each step. Rioho got clean garments out of her pack and was lightly attired by the time her companion returned. They embraced briefly before finishing the dinner preparations. Then they ate, and talked, and laughed as small amounts of wine were split between them._**

**_With the meal cleaned up they got into the extra large bed roll they had purchased for just this purpose. Canalel set her magical wards into a net around the camp site to warn of any intruders while they slept. Then the women cuddled close and began to slowly pleasure one another. This had continued for almost five minutes when the wards flashed a blinding blue and the lovers were forced apart. Before they could react they were pinned on their backs with a phallic ended tentacle stuffed in three of their orifices each. Another four tentacles latched onto their breasts and began sucking madly._**

**_Both women moaned at the unexpected pleasure produced by the writhing penetration."I must thank you for releasing me from the dungeons of the keep. But the lust and pain I absorbed in ready supply must be replaced. You two will serve me well until your bodies wear out." He expanded the tentacles and drove them deeper. The women gagged and screamed until their bodies arched in climax. The demon withdrew, leaving Canalel and Rioho covered in his fluids."That was nice girls, we will continue after you have had some time to recover."_**

**_Canalel raised her hand and snapped her fingers, the tentacles that had made contact with the girls exploded, sending geysers of demonic ichor flying in all directions. The demon curled into a writhing mass of tentacles on the ground._**

**_Canalel stood, pure hatred seething in her eyes. Rioho coughed,"How long have you been able to do that?"_**

**_"I cast the spell just after it touched us, but I figured we should get some enjoyment out of it before this thing died."_**

**_"Oh, I agree. And I also would not like to have that thing exploding inside me."_**

**_Canalel smiled at Rioho and waved her hand at the sky. Just to the side of their camp a small patch of ground was hit by a heavy rain. The girls stepped into the shower and began cleansing their bodies. They gave the demon a bit of a show to tease it about what it would never have again. As it stirred Canalel activated the spell again and all of it's tentacles exploded, leaving it immobilized on the ground._**

**_They finished cleaning themselves off and stepped over to the creature,"You should be more careful when choosing your playthings. Some of us like to play back." She conjured a force wall to deflect the gore and activated the last part of the spell. The demon came apart, it's body dissolving into small bits. The pieces evaporated as the controlling consciousness was banished._**

**_The girls cleaned up their camp and went back to bed, picking up where they had been interrupted._**

Gendo Ikari sat in his office as the Section 2 agent brought him a file. He read of his son's on line activities, the art and comics contained within filled him with pride for Shinji. Part of his wife still survived in the world, but he could not allow any of this to show or his son might get caught in the crossfire between him and SEELE.

He grabbed his pen and wrote a few notes finally filling in the recommendation space with the words:Take no action. He signed the form and handed it back to the agent who turned and left. As the door sealed Kozo spoke,"So the apple dose not fall far from the tree, dose it Ikari?"

"No it doesn't old friend."

"Is that pride I hear in your voice?"

Gendo smiled and his glasses flashed in the light coming from the floor to ceiling window that made up a whole wall of the office. Even after all these years Kozo still got shivers from that smile.

Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Thanks to hy wife for proofing it for me.

Also I put up a discussion forom with a topic for each story. Any questions will be answered there.

Again thanks for making this my most successful story yet.


	3. Chapter 3: Misaki

Hentai Shinji Chapter 3: Misaki

Shortly after his first experience with the female body Shinji put another phase of his plan into action. He enrolled at a local dojo that taught Aikido and Judo, attending twice a week. His primary rational for this was self defense. With his guardians, having already lost their son to the violence of the Post Second Impact world, this was not only acceptable but a good idea. They encouraged his studies by setting aside a room for him to practice in. They also were happy about him learning Judo, due to their perception of it being a defensive art.

Shinji knew how his aunt and uncle would react to different forms and chose to maximize their positive response. He wished to study the martial arts in order to use his size to it's greatest effect.

Shinji also knew that this had an effect on young women. Many girls found these practices to be very masculine, an instinctive response to their own raging hormones. This was a widespread response and only had a negative effect on girls that found boys undesirable to start with, which Shinji had no interest in anyway.

He found quiet a few of his classmates desirable, but did not wish to fracture the shy aspect of his facade. He also found that aggressive women were more appealing to him, so he chose to wait for one to approach him.

His birthday was coming up as well. His guardians told him to invite his friends from school, of which he classed only one person, and she was far too old and sensual for them to approve of. He knew a half dozen boys his own age, all of them business acquaintances. He was sure he could pass them off as friends, mainly because they had very high opinions of him. The modest amounts of money they earned from selling his wares accounted for most of this.

When the day finally arrived he awoke to find the house decorated and his aunt fixing his favorite meal. His uncle was in his study reading the paper and sipping coffee when Shinji came in."Good morning uncle, did you sleep well?"

"Yes Shinji, thank you for asking. And Happy Birthday. Do you have any plans this morning?"

"Not much, just planning on practicing for an hour or so, then meditation."

"You work so hard, between your various arts, I don't see how you have any time to simply relax and be a kid."

Shinji gave the look of considering his uncle's words,"You know, I think one day off won't hurt. Maybe I'll just read something today."

His uncle considered this a victory, the boy never seemed to just take a day to lounge around a play games like other kids his age. Then again he was also better behaved than most kids his age. He was always respectful and polite. Never did anything to violate the trust placed in him. And was far too busy to do anything wrong. It was a decent trade.

Shinji had planned for a day off but knew what was expected of him. He ate, thanked his aunt, and headed for town. He would spend the day window shopping, or appearing to. Days like this were always good for scouting the local female population for inspiration. Most of it was only pictures, but keeping his sample section updated helped.

He drifted past the book store and spotted his two favorite unwitting models. They both looked stunning in mirror blue and white outfits. He could see himself with either one of them but they both seemed so stuck up. Well if wishes were...

He continued to wander the city and came to the town electronics store, going inside for the next item on his list. He nonchalantly perused the digital cameras, comparing them based first on size, then resolution, and finally storage capacity. He selected one that could fit into the palm of his hand, had a one hundred megapixel resolution, and half a terabyte of storage.

He purchased a carrying case as well and put a much more powerful camera on layaway. Then he went outside and caught a bus heading out toward the edge of town.

The bus dropped him in front of a small grocery store where he purchased supplies for the next few days. Using several extra bags he securely balanced the weight on his body. Then he checked every detail of his clothing down to his shoe laces, making sure nothing was loose.

He stretched his muscles and began a slow jog.

Jogging for just over an hour he reached the base of the mountain and started his ascent. An hour later he reached a landing where a pile of boulders was built up at the side of an indentation cut into the mountain. He walked around the back of the pile and lifted a boulder out of the way of a door. Punching a code into the keypad the bolts retracted and he entered.

Fifteen minutes later he emerged, relieved of his purchases. He repeated the inspection and started the trip back.

Five minutes later a brown haired girl in a blue and white dress crested the rise and went to the spot where Shinji had disappeared. She moved the boulder and saw the keypad. She was smart enough to know better than to even try, so she extracted a book from a hidden pocket, folded her jacket on the ground before the door and sat on it. She would wait as long as she had to. He was so important to her, he knew such things, she had to know.

Shinji's party went very well, his 'friends' all bringing cards with money. His guardians got him a digital camera, to his surprise the exact same model he had purchased earlier. He thanked them all profusely and enjoyed the meal prepared for the occasion. Then he said goodbye to all his friends as they left and picked up his pack. He told his aunt and uncle he would return in a few days and disappeared into the night.

Shinji took the last bus to the edge of town and started into the country. He arrived at his 'fortress of solitude' well after midnight, the whole journey taking three hours due to his slower pace. When he arrived he discovered the door cover out of place. He bent down and quietly lowered the pack to the ground while extracting his knife from the sheath on his leg. A military surplus Ka-Bar that he had purchased and sharpened to a razor edge.

He held the knife defensively and crept toward the opening, being sure to keep the faux rock cover stone between himself and the door. He peered around the edge, and relaxed. Sitting on her jacket with her back against the door was the unconscious form of Misaki Ishii, the young girl he had used as a model for Rioho's body. She was wearing the blue dress with white frills he had seen her in earlier. Shinji put his knife away and recovered her book, which had fallen open on the ground when she fell asleep. A small pamphlet fell from the pages and revealed his own work.

'This is not good' he thought to himself. If she knows, more could know. He would have to proceed carefully, finding out how she had learned so much about him.

He gently stroked her cheek,"Misaki." He whispered,"Wake up please."

She stirred and her eye's fluttered, pressing her face into his hand. Then she jumped and her eyes opened wide. He smiled at her and brushed some hair from her eyes,"I have many questions Misaki, but first I think we should go inside."

She nodded and he stood, helping her to her feet. He lifted her jacket, a light windbreaker really, and tapped the code into the keypad. The bolts retracted and he opened the door, letting them both in while turning on the lights.

Shinji led her to the center of the small room and took his chair,"So, how did you find me?" She shifted nervously,"I... Um... followed you. When you passed by the book store, I saw you, and since I bought your comic I wanted to meet you, so I followed you, and you came here, then you left and I decided to wait, but you took so long I fell asleep..." Misaki trailed off as she realized she was rambling.

Shinji smiled,"So you decided to follow a strange boy, with a secret life, to his secret lair, high in the mountains?"

She blushed at the foolishness of this,"Yes." she whispered, letting her gaze fall to the floor.

"Who else knows about me and this place?"

"I've told no one, I swear. I just had to know..."Again she trailed off.

"Know what?" She didn't answer,"Know what? If I find you attractive? If I want to be your boyfriend? If you're going to get out of here alive?" Shinji touched a control on his desk and the bolts of the door clicked into place. Misaki look up, her eyes wide with terror,"The answers to those questions are yes, yes, and maybe. Depending on your answers, you may leave this place."

The fear caused her knees to give way, she collapsed into a ball of sobs,"My friend, Kotone, knows I followed you. She is expecting me to call her by morning."

Shinji laughed darkly,"Good girl. You were smart about this. Please stop crying, I just wanted the truth. You will leave alive and unharmed, you have my word."

She still shook from residual sobs, but had otherwise quieted. Shinji asked,"So tell me, what do you really want to know and why?"

"I want to know what you did to make Miss Tanaka so happy. I saw her yesterday, and she looked so happy. You did something to her, the look on her face was like nothing I can describe. I want to have that look on my face."

"How do you know it was me?"

"I saw the way she looked at you. The way she got upset when other girls looked at you that way. And I saw something else, she had a longing in her eyes. It wasn't there yesterday. I just know it was you."

"It all started with a picture I drew of her."

This was not what Misaki expected,"A... a picture?"

Shinji laughed once,"Yeah, I was sure she was gonna jump down my throat for that. But she liked it, and it started that longing stirring in her. Then after class on the last day we arranged to meet here."

Misaki turned red from the implications,"So you two are seeing each other."

"No. That would never work, and it is not what she really needs for a long term relationship." He smiled and glanced at the ceiling,"No, Mio just wanted to thank me for reawakening that part of herself. She chose to share that part with me to do so." Shinji decided to throw her a change, to shake her out of her fear,"Would you like something to drink?"

She blinked,"Sure, thank you. I haven't had anything since breakfast."

"Would you like something to eat then, not much of a selection. Just non perishable stuff and some stuff that goes quick." He pulled two sports drinks out of the small fridge and grabbed a few protein bars off the table next to it. He took this over to floor where she sat and handed her a drink. Then he sat down and spread the bars between them.

Misaki was not sure this is what she would class as a meal, but hunger quickly enhanced curiosity and she tentatively tried one of the bars. Then proceeded to wolf it down.

When she reached for another Shinji stopped her,"Take it easy, those bars can do strange things to your stomach if you eat too many at once."

She withdrew her hand,"Sorry, I shouldn't be so greedy."

"Nonsense. You're welcome to anything I have, I just don't want you to get sick. Drink what you have and then we'll see how you feel."

"Thank you, Ikari."

"Call me Shinji."He rubbed his chin,"Now where was I. Oh yeah. Mio and I said goodbye the next afternoon and I haven't seen her since then. Nor do I expect to, except in random passing. So no I'm not currently seeing anyone."

"You spent a whole night and morning, um... doing it?"

"Not quiet. First let me say this, we were not 'doing it'. We were Fucking like two wild beasts for the whole night, then we slept for the morning. That much exertion can really take it out of you. I was sore until the next morning, but you don't really notice through the chemical afterglow produced by that much close contact with a person who's only concern is your pleasure."

Misaki turned red at his blunt name for the action her hormones were screaming for. The blush deepened as he described the after effects."How can you be so casual about it?"

"Because I am not ashamed of helping a friend rediscover herself. Therefore I am not ashamed of screwing her brains out for a whole night. Of course she did the same to me for just as long. I am casual about it with you, and you are the only other person that knows, because you wish to experience this as well. Probably not tonight, but before you leave."

She blushed again at the truth of what he said, but she was relaxing around him. All of the fear she had felt was melting as the improvised meal took care of her hunger. Her body started shutting down, beckoning he to sleep again. Shinji caught her and gently lifted her onto the bed, removing her shoes and glasses. She curled into a fetal ball as he pulled the cover over her.

Just before dawn he woke her, holding out his cell phone for her."Misaki, you need to make a phone call, don't you?"

She rubbed her eyes and grabbed her glasses off of the side table."What happened? Why am I in bed?"

"You passed out, I guess when the adrenaline wore off your exhaustion took over. It has been five hours and day break is almost here. You need to call Kotone, and then we can have breakfast." She smiled and took the phone, blearily entering the number and placing the call.

"Kotone... Yes it's Misaki.... Yes, I'm fine... No, I just slept... He didn't try anything.... We just talked.... I'll call you tonight before sundown... No, I'm going to stay with him... I'm not sure, I just need to stay... Thanks... I will... Bye."

She hung up, handing the phone back. "Just curious, but aren't your parents going to worry?"

"Kotone and I are staying at her house while our parents are out of town on a business trip to Tokyo-2. They'll be back this weekend."

"So we have until then. This shouldn't take that long." He held our his hand,"Would you like some breakfast?"

She took his hand and got out of bed,"Sure, as long as it's not more bars."

Shinji chuckled,"No, just some fruit." He led her back to the picnic spot on the rug, where their were grapes, apples and sliced cantaloupe.

She looked at him,"How?" Was all she could say.

"Even I can't survive on power bars and sports drinks. I keep a limited supply of fruit and meats here. I imagine you followed me here when I bought this stuff yesterday." He helped her sit and took up position opposite, pouring glasses of orange juice for them both.

They ate in silence for several minutes, Misaki eating almost as much as Shinji, her hunger overpowering her daintiness. As they finished eating he asked,"So where do you want to start learning?"

She looked at him, her eyes widening as comprehension dawned on her," You said it all started between you and Miss Tanaka when you drew a picture of her."

He nodded,"Mio really enjoyed the picture, it made her feel desirable."

"Then, could you draw a picture of me?"

He stood,"Sure, why don't you get comfortable and sit on the bed." Shinji turned to his desk and started putting pencils into the slots on his portable board. He heard a rustle of fabric behind him, it continued for an inordinate amount of time. Then the sound stopped and the bed creaked slightly from her weight. Shinji sat on his stool and swiveled to face her, and was meet with the vision of Misaki's body layed out on his bed, wearing only her socks and a smile."I didn't mean quite that comfortable, but as you wish." he started drawing, taking special care to replicate every detail.

Three hours later he put down the supplies and stretched,"Well, that's done. You can get dressed now."

She looked a little disappointed,"Do I have to?"

"No, but I do think clothes would be preferable to nudity around town."

"Around town? Why are we going back to town?"

"Because after lunch we need to get headed that way. I have a martial arts class tonight and we need to get you some different clothes."

"Whats wrong with what I have on?"

"Unless you intend to wear that for the rest of the week, we need to pick up a few things for you."

"But I don't have a lot of money."

"Well, I think I can spend some money on my girlfriend."

She smiled shyly,"So, is it official?"

"If you want it to be. But if you are unsure, we could wait."

"No, I would like that. It just seems so sudden."

"Not as sudden as your decision to pose nude for me."

"Okay."

"Then let's go."

They returned to Shinji's hideout after dark, muscles aching from both the class and the long walk back. Shinji began striping his clothes off and looked at Misaki as she hesitated,"What, you're suddenly shy." She smiled weakly, remembering what she had already done that day. Then she started undoing her blouse.

They stood before each other naked, Shinji enjoying the sight again while Misaki took in his body. He let her study him for a few minutes before grabbing a bottle from the table and directed her to lay on her stomach. He then spread some of the massage oil on her back and straddled her waist.

Shinji worked her tight muscles until they were all the consistency of loose putty. As he hit the tighter spots she moaned in mixed pain and pleasure. When he finished Misaki was barely conscious and lying on her back with her eyes rolled up in her head. He had deliberately avoided the private parts of her body, not wishing to push her too far. Then he rolled her onto her side and curled up to her back, pulling the thin sheet over them.

The next morning Shinji woke first, but just lay there, not wishing to disturb his girlfriend. He lay there for almost half an hour before she began to stir. He cupped her breast, which caused her to jump slightly,"Did you sleep well Misaki?"

She cuddled closer to him and moaned in a high pitch, sounding more like a squeak,"Divinely. I understand why my mom always sleeps better when dad's there. It is like knowing nothing can be wrong with the world as long as the other is with you." She squirmed against him,"And you?"

"Like I had found something I was missing. When Mio and I slept afterward I felt this also, but not the same intensity as this." He pinched her nipple and breathed deeply in her hair. Five minutes later they were just getting rolling when Shinji's phone rang.

He checked it and handed it over,"Hello... Yes I'm fine... We just woke up, and were kinda distracted... No, this was gonna be the first time... He just gave me a massage... It's okay. I do appreciate your concern though, and I'm sorry I worried you... Thanks, and I promise... Probably tomorrow... As many times as my body will let me... Later."

She hung up and noticed Shinji looking at her with a questioning look."You promise what?"

She curled up to him again,"Oh, nothing. She just wants to know how it is. Neither one of us have ever done anything like this before." She noticed the look on his face,"Don't worry so much, I remember the promises I made to you too. And now I have even more reason to protect you, as my boyfriend."

He shrugged, letting it go,"So, where were we?" Shinji leaned down to kiss her.

Once before breakfast. He was very careful and gentle, doing his best not to hurt her. Twice between breakfast and lunch. Twice more before dinner, taking their time the fifth time. And then once more after dinner. This was almost as new an experience for Shinji as it was for Misaki. They would take short breaks and replace fluids between each session, while talking about different aspects of their relationship. By the time they fell asleep he reflected that this was probably the best day of his life so far. He also hoped that it would just get better from here on.

He awoke early the next morning and slipped out of bed. He had an idea the previous morning but hadn't wanted to disrupt the flow of the day.

Shinji sat before his desk and started drawing, it wasn't a continuation of he's previous story. But it should get a good laugh out of his audience.

The picture depicted an anthropomorphized dog/boy taking a cat/girl doggy style, how else. There expressions showed the pleasure they were having with each other. The caption read 'His Favorite Squeak Toy'

Shinji was just finishing the picture when Misaki wrapped her arms under his and around his chest. She rubbed her face into his back,"Come back to bed, please?" Her voice conveyed her desire.

"As many times as your body will let you." He repeated," You're insatiable. More like until my body finally gives out." She came around to his side.

"You've had the whole night to recover." She retorted playfully. Then she looked at the picture he was finishing, and was torn between laughter and shock,"Is that really what you think of me?"

"No. But you do sound like one, especially when I eat you out." She blushed and he continued," Your not my favorite. Your my only."

She hugged him and they drifted back to the bed.

They had an early lunch and headed back to town. Holding hands until he left her at Kotone's house. Their farewell kiss would have made it quiet clear to the neighbors what their relationship included, but the porch was flanked on all sides by high bushes, and the front walkway did not face another house. After leaving her he returned home just long enough to grab a shower and head to class again. He reflected, as he learned the basic moves, that this could still go south. But some part of him, totally isolated from his emotions by genetic heritage, told him she was not one to worry about. And he even suspected Misaki would keep Kotone in line.

With these thoughts he focused on learning a new form of art.

---oooOOOooo---

He finally has a girlfriend. This should get interesting.

I would like to thank my Favorite Squeak Toy for proofing this for me.


	4. Chapter 4: Summons

Hentai Shinji Chapter 4: Summons

Shinji and Misaki were once again spending the day together. She was in a school uniform that hugged her young curves in all the right places while showing an exquisite amount of her legs. He was seated on his stool with his color pallet in hand and the easel before him.

He had been hard pressed to find an angel with good scenery and that avoided his solar panels. He finally decided on a view that contained both the plain that was on the opposite side of the mountain and the ridge leading off to the upper right of the canvas.

Misaki sat on a rock with her ankles crossed and her hands clasped in her lap. A smile covered her whole face, which was tilted slightly to her right,"So where did you learn that thing we did this morning?"

"I've spent a lot of time reading over the years. Access to a large library and not many friends gave me more free time than the average boy our age, with an eccentric mix of topics to pull from. One of those topics was photographic memory techniques, which has come in handy for drawing people who don't model for me."

He smiled,"But I do certainly prefer having a live model to use." Her grin increased," But as I was saying, I eventually ran through my uncle's whole library. Then I started visiting the book store quiet often, reading as much as possible. I eventually got to the health section and found several books on sexual technique. These included The Kama Sutra, The Ananga Ranga, The Perfumed Garden, and The Tao. I read direct translations and modern interpretations, plus more modern books on the subject."

He rinsed his brush, blotted it dry, and switched to a finer tipped one. Then continued painting,"With the memory techniques I was able to remember everything I read and write down the high points when I got home. From this I formed a number of theories about the whole experience. Then when Mio and I had our marathon of passion I was able to put some of those into practice, along as having her give me some instructions. I learned much in that night, knowledge that you have certainly benefited from." She blushed and Shinji grinned,"You know, it's impolite to change the color of your skin in the middle of a picture like this."

That got her,"You did that on purpose. I'm just so jealous of her." She breathed deeply to calm herself,"But I have only myself to blame. If I had just noticed you earlier, then it would have been me." She glanced to the side to steady herself and the solar cells sitting there triggered a train of thought that had been bothering her for a while. Resuming her previous pose,"I've been meaning to ask. How did you afford all this. I mean, your business at school was probably good, but this would have cost so much."

Shinji switched brushes again before responding,"The business at school was just part of it. I set up a website to sell my 'art'. It took off, and I have had ample money for all of this." This was due to the rather lacking state of the porn industry after Second Impact. While a large percentage of the pre-impact populace partook of the industry only a small percentage was actually involved in fueling it.

Then Impact had caused a disproportionate shift in this paradigm. The main suppliers had either been wiped out or lost their equipment and support structure. The few that could maintain the flow had gone out during the widespread disruption of the internet in the years following impact. Since the internet had been reestablished there had been a few to emerge as flesh artists, business booming for them, but variety was hopelessly lacking. This resulted in a mass exodus toward Shinji's site since it's creation, much to his enjoyment.

"But how could you buy this land, and contract to have a full security hideout built. You're only a kid."

"That's an easily overcome obstacle. I just had to create a false identity, not nearly as hard in a shattered technologically dependent society as you might think. And then I just got what I needed, the land up here is not good for much of anything, so it went cheap. The building permit I had the contractor apply for, quoting time constraints and paying extra. Then I purchased supplies. That took the longest, but there are plenty of grocery stores in town, and the most time consuming part was actually moving it out here."

"You make it all sound so easy."

Shinji actually set his supplies down and looked pensively in her direction,"They say that money can't buy happiness. But large amounts of it do make happiness a fuck load easier to find, not to mention making the rest of life much easier." He picked up his supplies again and began making very fine highlighting strokes on the picture again.

They sat in silence for another half hour, until Shinji declared his completion. Misaki came around to look at it,"Man, I do think you have outdone yourself this time."

"I'm glad you like it. You're welcome to have it, as soon as it's dry."

"And how long should that take?"

He scratched his chin, feigning having to calculate in his head,"Let's see. Probably two days, just in time for your birthday."

She smiled brightly and threw her arms around his neck,"You planned that, didn't you."

"Maybe." She kissed him.

After a few minutes he lowered her onto a blanket he had brought for just this occasion. He hiked her skirt up and started undoing the buttons of her blouse. Her hands were not idle during this time, seeking out his belt. They made love for an hour before they both screamed their last and collapsed. He held her close, using some of the tantric techniques he knew to stay inside her,"Unfortunately we can't have more time together, like that first week."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that. My folks are going to Tokyo-3 in a few weeks, so are Kotone's. I'm sure I could persuade my best friend to spend some time alone with her new boyfriend."

Shinji smiled and kissed her,"What do your parents do that takes them out of town so much?"

"Their electrical engineers. They just don't like the idea of raising children in big cities. So they commute a lot."

Shinji was a little surprised about this. Sure the new Tokyo's were big, but why would they need specialists to look over their power distribution grid. What are you up to Father?

ooo000OOO000ooo

Over the next couple months the small town saw a martial arts renaissance. Many young men, and some young women, joined the various dojos around the city. Of note was a half dozen boys that Shinji classed as business acquiescences, and his girlfriend.

The boys had seen that Shinji, their hero, had become quiet popular with the girls in their age group and wished to acquire some of that popularity for themselves. Misaki joined to have another excuse to spend time with him.

Shinji advanced quickly through the techniques, his perfect memory and high level of muscular control allowed him to reproduce the moves with little practice. This ability earned him a reputation as a martial arts prodigy, an impression reinforced by the slower rate of progress of his classmates. He allowed it to stand mainly by not doing anything to challenge it, especially not explaining to anyone how he did it.

Also during this time he had posted several more installations of the hentai that had made him so much money. Mostly they depicted the girls crossing of the distances between Langual and Gachja. They had encountered a newlywed couple traveling to Langual to see his uncle. The noises issuing from the lesbian's side of the camp had surprised the young couple at first. Then they matched the volume with their own pleasure and quickly forgot about the strangers.

**It had been three days since the night they had camped with young couple. Canalel and Rioho still got giggles when they thought about the young couple's faces on the morning of their parting. As they both knew the reason for the other's amusement the giggling became contagious. **

**They were just making their evening stop when a rustling in the nearby underbrush caught their attention. Rioho drew her longsword and turned to face the disturbance. Canalel took out the two rapiers she had looted from the keep where they had become lovers. The three blades were magical but did not get along very well. While this was not much of a problem for Rioho with her single blade, Canalel had to constantly negotiate with them to keep them from interfering with her. This had the downside of placing considerable strain on her powers even while not casting. She was slowly imprinting the weapons, causing them to adjust their attitudes. **

**The pair stood watching the spot for thirty seconds before Rioho reached out to the soul of the sword and directed it to attack. A bolt of lightning arced into a tree near the source of the noise. **

**A female voice cried out,"Okay, we'll come out. Just please don't fry us." A pair of statuesque drow stepped out of the brush, wearing matching purple robes. They looked roughly the same age as Canalel with flowing white hair reaching down to their waist. They were perfect mirrors of each other, one with a star shaped bright purple tattoo on her left cheek, the other on her right cheek. The one with the star on her right cheek spoke,"We didn't mean you any harm. My name is Rotigel, and this is my sister Rotigal." **

**The elf strode up next to her companion,"I am Canalel, and this is Rioho. Why are you sneaking around the woods?" **

**They hung their heads and Rotigal spoke,"We were banished from the underdark a month ago. " **

**The other one continued the conversation,"We were headed toward an above ground drow settlement when our trail ran parallel to the road." **

**They passed the story back,"Then we noticed you making camp and decided to observe." **

**"To see if you might be more friendly and understanding than other oversiders we've heard of." **

**"But my sister was too eager and in our struggle we made too much noise." **

**"And you noticed us." **

**Rioho and Canalel were definitely sure something was up. Even twins didn't often talk in that way. Finally they looked at each other and put their weapons away. Then Rioho turned back,"Come on in, were pretty friendly. Just as long as your not some sex crazed demon in disguise." **

**The twins looked at each other and decided it must be an inside joke, then they both bowed and said in unison,"Thank you for your kindness." **

**Canalel noticed a slight magical thread linking the two through the facial art. That would be an interesting thing to do, linking twins so they couldn't act independently of each other. The only question that remained was whether it had been voluntary. **

**She decided to get the ball rolling on conversation,"So, why were you banished?" **

**As the companions started setting out their camp supplies the twins began the story, tossing it back and forth every sentence."We were found to have strange appetites." **

**"We were two of the most promising warriors in our city." **

**"And we had a talent for extracting information from prisoners." **

**"We would bring a prisoner to the moment of release and then stop." **

**"Leaving him willing to tell us anything just to let him finish." **

**"This was always effective and earned us some recognition." **

**"Then they brought in a female prisoner from a raid on another drow city." **

**"We took turns bringing her closer to release." **

**"Then when we should have stopped we found ourselves too caught up in the moment." **

**"When we discussed the session later we both found a certain enjoyment that had never been there before." **

**"We began experimenting with each other." "And then we included the prisoner." **

**"When it was discovered we were not interrogating the prisoner but simply enjoying our time together she was killed and we were banished." **

**"Before we were thrown into the daylight they placed this bond on us." Rotigel gestured to the star on her cheek. **

**"At first it was hard to have the thoughts of another in our minds." **

**"But after a while we grew accustomed to the sensation and even learned to use it." **

**"We can now coordinate our attacks better than any other pair of combatants alive." **

**"And their are other benefits." **

**Rioho looked at the pair quizzically,"What kind of benefits?" **

**They inclined their heads toward each other in mirrored looks of consideration,"Any sensation one feels echoes back and forth between us." **

**"Our pain threshold has increased a hundred fold, simply to ignore the smaller discomforts of every day life." **

**Canalel grinned evilly,"But pleasure dose the same thing, doesn't it?" **

**The twins lowered their heads, the closest a drow can come to a blush,"Before we learned restraint, the waves of pleasure would become debilitating." **

**"The smallest touch resonating endlessly in the link." **

**Rioho looked at her lover,"If not for the permanent nature of the effect it could be fun." **

**Canalel smiled back,"Yeah, but their link runs deeper. The spell connects their souls, so if one dies the other will follow." **

**"Thats sick, and all because they are different?" **

**The twins spoke again,"The Drow are not a tolerant people." **

**"They hate anything that is different." **

**"Family rivalries have carried from the barest slight down through the generations to the point where entire clans have wiped each other out." **

**Canalel had mixed emotions. On the one hand she related to the twin lovers through her own relationship. While on the other, every elf is taught to hate drow from a young age. **

**Rioho had no such cultural baggage,"You are welcome to join us for as long as your path and ours are the same." With this her lover followed suit. While not entirely comfortable, Canalel knew her upbringing played too much of a part in her fears. **

**The twins bowed in thanks,"We thank you for your hospitality." **

**"We will try not to be an inconvenience." **

**"Nonsense," Canalel said,"It will be nice to have the company. Not many people travel this road, and there have been reports of raiders. More skilled fighters could only make the passing easier." **

**The two sets of companions finished the preparations for the night's camp well before the usual time, thanks to the extra hands lent to the task. Then they lounged as the trail rations were distributed and Rioho recounted how she and Canalel had come to meet. **

**As the sunlight faded on the horizon the couples retired, Rioho and Canalel to their shared sleeping arrangements. Rotigel and Rotigal to a pair of smaller pallets placed close enough together to allow mutual access. The four slept close to one another, a kinship sparked by their shared interests eliminating any doubts. **

**In short order all four women moaned in pleasure, their voices harmonizing as they lifted into the night air. The two couples continued to make love passionately for the next hour, unconsciously competing to see who could drive their partner to higher levels of pleasure. **

**The drow couple won the contest by virtue of the magical bond causing their sensations to resonate in an ever increasing cycle. Finally, done with their love making, the four women curled closely to their partners in a cloud of bliss and drifted off to sleep.**

ooo000OOO000ooo

Then the most unexpected event of Shinji's life happened, he received a letter from his father. High school had started a week before and as he returned home one day he was surprised to find his uncle's car their. I wonder if he's okay? Shinji thought. His uncle was not the type of man to simply take off of work in the middle of the day. To his memory this had never happened in the ten years since he had come to live here.

Shinji's wondering was soon ended as his aunt stuck her head into the hallway,"Please come into the library dear? You received a letter from Gendo today."

His mind refused to believe this as he complied with the request. His unforgivable father had never written to him, and the only correspondence he knew of was with his guardians. He had been forced to meet with Gendo at his mother's grave a couple years before. This meeting had ended with Shinji running from the mass cemetery as his emotions warred with each other. Afterward shame had forced him to reevaluate his reaction to the imposing figure that commanded respect in all his actions. Shinji had begun to understand himself on a level rarely achieved by a teenager, even after second impact. This had led him to desire changes in himself, primarily he wished to never again give into the fear of his father.

The changes that this self critique had indicated necessary had led to more and more things that needed to change. Finally he had realized that making such sweeping alterations in his personality would be ill received by others, so he carefully reconstructed his spineless behavioral patterns as a facade. But over a year of playing the wimp while his mind noted the differences between himself and others had started to become taxing. By the time he had taken up art the mask was starting to wear thin.

Shinji took full advantage of the opportunity a change in interests presented to make changes in his facade, slowly modifying it to be as close to the true him as was socially acceptable.

Now he let the lie drop completely as he read the message from his father. One word, without preamble or context to distort it's meaning,"Come".

Shinji shook with suppressed rage at the shear audacity of Gendo's message, that bastard, who had abandoned me, intimidated me, treated me like I was beneath his notice for so long. He now had the balls to command me to appear before him. FUCK HIM. And the high horse he rides around on.

His aunt wanted desperately to go to the boy, cradle him in her arms, and make all the hurt go away. But the figure standing before her was no longer Shinji Ikari, he was a god of rage and vengeance, transcending what humans could feel to add new words to describe the depth of his hatred for the man who had written that note. She stood away from him, almost frightened by the explosion she could imagine coming.

Then Shinji spoke,"I'll be leaving for Tokyo-3 on Monday." He said this in an absolutely level voice, no emotion seeping in to provide the slightest modulation.

His uncle decided to provide the boy with an out,"You don't have to. I could write back and tell him to go to h... To leave you alone." Shinji smiled at the almost used expletive, knowing that his uncle would never use such language unless he was truly furious.

Shinji looked at his guardians,"I appreciate how much you care about me, but I have to confront him. This stalemate has to end, one way or the other, if I am to ever overcome my fear and anger for him."

His uncle stood and placed a hand on his shoulder,"You are turning into a fine young man and I see you accomplishing great things with your life. We will always be proud of you for how much you have grown while you were here."

"Thank you. I will be forever in your debt for the kindness you have shown me. Hopefully one day I can repay you."

His aunt knelt down in front of him and gathered him into a hug,"You don't owe us anything dear. It has been a pleasure having you with us."

They all hugged, holding the familial expression for a full minute. Then Shinji extracted himself,"I have many people to say goodbye to, and many arrangements to make. If you would please excuse me." He bowed deeply before backing out of the room.

As he was leaving the house he heard his aunt say,"Why don't you invite your friends over for dinner tomorrow night. We can have a farewell party for you."

He stopped, glancing over his shoulder,"That would be nice," He said in a low voice, and headed out.

ooo000OOO000ooo

He and Misaki had one last day together, attempting to postpone the inevitable with excessive passion. In between sessions he told her about his business, how to print out and organize the files he would send her. She listened attentively, knowing this meant a lot to him, not abandoning his friends by keeping in touch with her. And then he finally came to the point they had been avoiding,"Listen lovely, I want you to move on. There's no telling how long I'll be in Tokyo-3. I'm not even sure why that bastard sent for me. but if you meet someone else while I'm there, I will understand."

She looked away,"So it's over with us then?" He heard the pain in her voice and gently turned her face toward his.

"I don't want it to be. I love you, and these past few months have been the happiest of my life. But I have to face him. Maybe I'll finally be able to get some answers. Even if I don't, I have to find some way to stop having the memory of a scared little kid running from his father. This is the only way. If that ends it, then I'll come back. But if I don't, you have to promise me you won't put your life on hold waiting for me. I may never be able to return to the simple life," He squeezed her,"and simple pleasures I know."

She kissed him, tears running down her face,"I love you too, and I understand why you have to do this. But don't expect me to be happy about loosing you."

He smiled gently at her,"I would feel insulted if you were. Let's get going." With that they left his , their, secret place, possibly never to return to it together.

At the party he received many well wishes from her friends, as well as a single gift."We all chipped in to get you a MP3 player and load it with music. Hope you like it man."

He thanked them and bowed deeply. The festivities progressed until his guardians finally put an end to it, some time around eleven. They all headed back home, Shinji walking Misaki home personally. As they were nearing her house he spoke,"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being there for me tonight. It meant a lot to me, to have all my friends together for one last blast."

She looked down, forcing the tears back with all her effort,"Your welcome." They walked in silence for another minute before reaching her house. They hugged and exchanged light kisses, but before she let him go she said,"Shinji, promise me that if you can, you will come back to me."

"I promise. If there is any way to come back I will find it. But understand that I will be finished with my father before I return to you."

She nodded and kissed him passionately, then hurried inside. She went to her room and started getting ready for bed. Her mother came in as she was slipping in between the sheets.

"How was the party?"

Misaki lay her head down on her pillow," It was okay."

Her mother could hear the strain in her daughter's voice,"Is something wrong dear?"

Misaki decided that spilling her guts about her relationship with Shinji would probably get them both in more trouble than she could even imagine."I just hate loosing him."

"He seems like such a nice and polite boy." Her mother said in what she thought was an understanding tone. She had no idea of the true depth of her daughters feelings and ended up sounding condescending.

Misaki rolled over,"Good night mom." The finality in her voice stopped any further conversation.

"Good night dear." Her mother said, closed the door and walked away. When she thought her mother was out of earshot, Misaki started sobbing into her pillow. She continued this for an hour, remembering all the things she experienced with Shinji. Things she would probably not experience again for a long time. She finally cried herself into a restless sleep with half fulfilling dreams that always ended when he left her completely unsatisfied.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Sunday morning Shinji awoke well before dawn, he still had a lot to do. He started sorting all the items in his room into three categories. That which he would take with him, that which he wanted shipped to him later, and finally things he would leave here, just in case he could come back.

Shortly after he started Shinji found a letter waiting on his desk. M. Katsuragi was the name on the return address, which indicated it had come from Tokyo-3. Opening the envelope he found a picture of a woman with purple hair bent over toward the camera. She had kissed the picture and written a message with an arrow calling attention to her cleavage. Shinji wondered how insecure a mature woman had to be to flirt with a totally unknown teen like this. He then noticed the writing in the upper right corner, Saying she would pick him up. Also in the envelope he found an I.D. card and papers explaining that the card allowed full train access anywhere in Japan.

Shinji figured that would be monitored to prevent abuse, but it could be fun. Still, this Katsuragi woman made him nervous, either she was seriously flirting, or she was just teasing. If the latter were the case, she would pay for it. And if she was serious... Might be fun.

With that thought he resumed his work, ending up with a duffel bag and back pack of things he would take immediately and a box he would have shipped to him latter. Then he went to his practice room and began his daily routine, taking his time as he focusing on clearing his mind.

The katas slowly drained all the raging thoughts from his brain, allowing him to plan out his next few hours. Then he moved on to the rest of the day, the night, and finally tomorrow. The day would start with him leaving for Tokyo-3. This was the easiest part to plan, as the train ride should be nothing more than six hours of boredom. At least he had plenty of new music to listen to, thanks to his friends.

He had actually moved them into that category with their gift, a hermetically sealed, military grade digital media player. It could handle any audio or video file you could upload into it, while still being able to survive being run over by a semi or dropped out a fourth story window. The display was a seven inch full multi touch screen, capable of HD resolutions. The only drawback was the totally sealed case, lacking the ability to insert physical media. It's data, power and headphone jacks were sealed, transferring via shielded EM flux fields. The boys had uploaded over a hundred hours of audio to it, running the full range from classical to the bleeding edge of rock, some post-impact evolution of acid and death metal.

Shinji was saving the music for the long train ride as well as any further periods of down time after he arrived.

Finishing his practice he headed for the bathroom, showered, and got dressed for the day. He then went out to breakfast with his guardians, a tradition they had started years ago, but only started taking on a familial tone since Shinji had started discarding parts of his facade. Today he only wore the parts that were needed to keep him socially acceptable.

The rest of the day passed with out further deviation from the norm, Shinji proceeding to bed at the usual time with a kiss on the forehead from his aunt.

The next morning he was up early again and was just ready to leave, quietly and without fan fare, when his uncle stepped in front of the door."Trying to sneak away without saying goodbye?" His gentle tone took the edge off of the accusatory question.

"Thought that would probably be the best way," He held out several envelopes,"No long goodbyes, just slip away and convey my feelings in writing."

"That might be the best way, but it's not exactly fair to the women who love you."

Shinji noticed the pleural,"It's all for them, so that there is no need for awkward silences, pleading, or tears."

His uncle stepped forward and placed his hand on Shinji's shoulder,"On your head be it." He nodded, taking the letters, and walking down the hallway. Shinji left, saying goodbye to his home while closing the door. He feared he would never return to this place, never know the simple pleasure of enjoying Misaki's flesh pressed against his. Her breathing even as she slept so close to him. Laughing with his friends, watching the people pass by, unsuspecting his intentions. All the happiest times of his life, gone, now to be replaced with he knew not what. But the path before him was his choice, perhaps the last choice he might make.

Shinji arrived on the platform just as the train was opening it's doors, bidding the nonexistent passengers to board quickly. He took a bench and stretched out in a sitting position, extracting his new toy and popping the waterproof headphones in his ears, relaxing as the songs played randomly. And he resigned himself to the inevitability of the future.

ooo000OOO000ooo

There it is, he is finally going to Tokyo-3. Now the flying fecal mater really hits the rotary air impeller.

I appreatiate the reviews and apologize for the wait, just not much free time these days. Dan, I'm posting to the forum topic for this story to respond to a few points you made in your review. Nothing negative, just a few differences of opinion, and answers.

Thanks to my wife for proofing this for me.


	5. Chapter 5: First Encounters

Hentai Shinji Chapter 5: First Encounters

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to NGE or Seraphs. Thanks to Crazy-88 for permission to use a reference from Once More with Feeling.

Shinji stood holding the receiver as the recording played,"Due to the special state of emergency there are no lines available." He set the receiver back in it's cradle and sighed.

"Great, now I'm in Tokyo-3 and the purple haired slut isn't even here to meet me. And what's this shit about a special state of emergency?" His ranting was cut of by a vision of a blue haired girl standing in the middle of the street. The oddest thing about her was not the fact that she had blue hair or that she was staring at him. He got the distinct feeling that he should know her, like he had known her all his life.

His attention was drawn away by a flock of birds taking flight near by and when he looked again the girl was gone. He mumbled under his breath,"Weird city. Not much wonder though with the asshole living here. Ten to one says he has seriously managed to mind fuck half the people here."

His thoughts were once again interrupted, this time by a massive pressure wave washing over the area he was standing in. Then he heard a high pitch whine from behind a hill, like a giant swarm of insects coming toward him.

Just then a flight of attack vtols came into view, backing away from whatever it was they were firing at. He wondered what could be taking that kind of fire power and still forcing them back. His question was soon answered by a giant dark green humanoid shape leisurely strolling out from behind the same hill the aircraft had emerged from. Shinji did a quick calculation of his chances of survival if he decided to make this a spectator sport. With the numbers coming out worse than Vegas odds he grabbed his things and started running.

He had no idea where the nearest shelter was, but away from that spot would do just fine. He was about a block when he heard a large ground level explosion from the place he had recently vacated. Thanking whatever gods might be listening he redoubled his efforts. He was concentrating so much on running that he did not notice the blue sports car pull up alongside him until a voice yelled at him,"Hey, you must be Shinji. Stop so you can get in."

He recognized the woman from the photo, wearing a brown, sleeveless, form fitting dress."No, I think keeping moving is the best course of action." As if to punctuate his statement a large explosion went off behind them. He continued,"Just open the door and I'll swing in."

She looked at him like he was crazy,"Wouldn't it be easier to just stop?"

Shinji shook his head,"Easier, Yes. Safer, Maybe. But I'm not stopping until one of two things happen."

She waited for him to continue before saying,"And those would be?"

"One: I pass out from exhaustion. Two: That thing stops blowing things up."

Misato realized he was serious and leaned over to open the door. Doing this at twenty miles an hour was not exactly suggestible, but the road was clear and it wasn't like she had a choice.

Shinji inched closer, being sure to match speeds. When he was close enough he swung his duffel into the back seat and moved his backpack to the front of his chest. Then he reached out and grabbed the door frame, using it to brace himself as he hopped into the seat. He quickly put his seat belt on and closed the door as Misato gunned the engine. They sped away from the angel as fast as the car could take them, Shinji once again thanking the gods he did not believe in that he was alive.

He then took a closer look at the woman who had picked him up. Her sunglasses hid her eyes, leaving only her facial expression and body language to read. She was obviously having the time of her life, much to Shinji's disbelief. He could admit that the adrenaline rush was nice, but he was far from enjoying himself.

Misato noticed the attention and smiled,"Like what you see?"

He heard the tease in her voice and thought,'Time to bring the pain.' "Not really, I was just wondering what kind of psychopath gets a kick out of almost being blown up by our own forces. What do you do for a living that this seems fun?"

Misato paled at the sudden dressing down by a fourteen year old. Her eyebrow twitched as she realized he had a point, which just made her madder. Who was this kid to berate her for a perfectly natural reaction. And psychopath, that was a little much. She opened her mouth to retort and stopped cold. He was a kid who just about died because she was late, he had every right to be angry. She took a calming breath,"I understand that your upset, and I'm sorry I was late. Maybe we should try this again."

She grinned at him,"Hi, I'm Misato Katsuragi."

Shinji smiled back,"Hello Miss Katsuragi, I'm Shinji Ikari." Maybe he was just jumping to conclusions.

"So how was the train ride, pretty boring huh?"

"Not really, my friends got me a media player loaded with music as a going away present. I found some really good music too, motivational kind of stuff."

"So you spent six hours listening to music. I would have passed out after about five minutes."

"I guess I just appreciate the arts a bit more."

Misato was taken aback by the bluntness of this statement. She liked music, but she had never been able to just sit and listen to it.

As she stewed they climbed to the crest of the mountains that ringed Tokyo-3. Misato started slowing and reached for a pair of binoculars. Shinji noticed the decrease in speed,"Misato, please don't stop?"

"I just want to see how it's going."

"Misato, from what I saw they were moving up through their munitions pretty fast. I'm surprised they haven't nuked it yet, probably just waiting for it to clear any populated areas. So would you please not slow down, getting flash sterilized by a radiation wave would put a damper on my future plans."

Misato was a little surprised about the amount of forward planning, but she continued to slow,"They'll use a N-2 mine. Not some dirty old nuke."

Shinji was not detoured by her argument,"And then theres the pressure wave that will crush this car like a beer can." Just as he finished speaking there was a bright flash behind the next hill. Misato slammed the breaks and grabbed onto Shinji, forcing him down.

A second later the afore mentioned shock wave arrived, tossing the car over. After rolling over four times it came to rest on the passenger's side. Shinji opened his eyes to find Misato's arms wrapped around his head, forcing his face into her bust.

He reached up and took hold of the sides of her chest. He lifted just enough to speak,"Misato, as much as I might enjoy suffocating like this, there are a few things I would like to do first."

She started to push off of him,"Such as?"

Shinji moved his hands around to the front of her breasts and gently rolled her nipples between his thumb and forefinger. He also used his other fingers to stimulate the flesh at the base of her breasts. Misato, over sensitized by adrenalin, moaned softly at the unexpected stimulation. Shinji smiled,"I think I would like to get to know you better before you suffocate me to death. But that can wait, first I need to 'extract' some information from my father."

He stopped and helped her get a firm footing while levering himself up. Misato was flushed and out of breath,"We need to get moving, their expecting us." She looked uneasy as he hoisted himself out of the shattered drivers side window. She was not entirely sure how to take the very sexual advance. She had been teasing him since before they meet, and the unexpected groping had felt really good. Then there was the fact that she was old enough to be his mother. While that kind of thing might happen in hentai, it didn't happen in real life. Did it?

She shook herself, deciding to put it out of her mind for now. He reached down for her, his feet set on the car frame at the base of the door. She took his hands and was surprised to be lifted out of the car and planted firmly on the ground in less than ten seconds.

More questions started running through her head as everything in Shinji's file was proving to be wrong. He was neither shy nor weak, leaving them on equal ground, knowing as much about him as he did about her. This made her uncomfortable, having studied his file to gain as much leverage as possible. Was Section 2 really that incompetent or was there information missing from his official file? It was even harder to clear her mind again as Shinji landed lightly next her her and immediately righted her car with a few good shoves.

He looked at her with a smile that threatened knowledge of her deepest secrets,"Okay, let's go." He said, opening his door to get in. She nodded and got into the car.

They drove in silence for a minute before Shinji decided she had had enough time to be thoroughly confused,"Listen, Misato. I know you were only teasing so let me give you some friendly advice. I don't like being teased, and I retaliate by teasing back, harder. If you're serious, we can see how it goes. But if not, just back off or I will make your life a living hell every time we meet."

Misato was floored by the bluntness of this child,"How can you be so calm about proposing that? I'm old enough to be your mother. And I work for your father. Even what you did earlier could get me fired if it ever got out."

Shinji smiled at the new information he got, so the old bastard scares others as much as me. This could be useful later,"I won't tell if you don't. And don't get too hung up on the age thing, my first time was a few months ago with a woman only a few years younger than you." He smiled, remembering that night."We had a wonderful night, and it helped us both to get over our own 'Issues'."

"Let me get this straight. You had a one night stand with a mature woman at your age?"

"I had an all night marathon with someone who is, even now, very special to me."

"What have you done since then, paint the whole town?"

"Just one girl. And yes she is my age. I'm not one for chasing skirts. I prefer to let them come to me." He grinned evilly,"Kinda like you."

Misato shot him a scathing look,"So what happened?"

"I had to come. That bastard is gonna answer for what he did to me."

"So you are propositioning me with a girlfriend waiting at home."

Shinji shook his head slowly."No. I said goodbye to her before I left. I have no idea how long this is going to take, and I didn't want her putting her life on hold when I might not be coming back. I know she wasn't happy about it, but I had no choice."

She still couldn't believe she was having this conversation at all, much less with a fourteen year old kid. She could hear the extremes of emotion perfectly separated. Unmitigated loathing for his father, and then deep nostalgic love for his girlfriend. He was so much more complicated than any kid his age had a right to be."I'll make you a deal. I won't tease you about sex and you lay off the advances. Agreed?"

Shinji smiled,"Agreed, conditionally."

She was afraid to ask,"What's the condition?"

"You tease me, and you take whatever I can dish out. Within reason of course."

Misato just knew she was going to regret this,"Agreed." Then the engine died.

The car coasted to a stop in front of a hardware store, much to her relief. She popped the hood and got out, Shinji lifting the hood before she realized he was even there. He tapped the controls to bring the diagnostics panel to life and studied the display for a moment."Looks like the battery is dead. The engine is having to draw too much power, and the regenerative brakes aren't working."

She looked over the screen herself to make sure,"Guess it's a good thing we broke down where we did."

Shinji looked around, catching sight of the shop."Yeah, but there's nobody here."

"That's no problem. In an emergence NERV personnel are given certain discretionary authorities. We'll just requisition what we need."

Shinji watched as she reached into the car and came out with a pistol. Misato took aim at the door lock and cocked the hammer back.

"Wait!" He shouted. She gave him a puzzled look. Shinji walked toward her raising his hands to her face. She froze, not sure what he might do despite their cease fire. She felt his fingers gently run through her hair, causing her to shudder at the contact her body had been screaming for all these years. Ever since that jerk left her. She was about to protest about not having time for this when Shinji withdrew, holding two of the mini pins she used to keep her hair out of the way.

Shinji had not missed Misato's reaction, noting it for later use. He went to the door and ten seconds later they were in, pilfer... requisitioning what they needed. He grabbed a few smaller items, shoving them in his pockets. When Misato noticed him do this she stopped him,"Shinji, were not shopping. We just need to get some batteries and go."

He shot her a grin,"Trust me. You'll be happy that I decided to get a little extra."

She shook her head and lead the way back to the car, leaving her card on the counter. They loaded the supplies in the back seat and Shinji began wiring the new electrical components in. Misato wasn't quiet sure what he was doing, but was too busy trying to secure the loose plastic pieces of her car with duck tape.

They finished at the same time, Shinji sliding something back into his pocket,"What was that?"

He climbed into the front seat,"Just a multimeter. I wanted to make sure we didn't burn out the engine by wiring in twice the usual load of batteries."Misato decided to take a look at his work and found herself looking at the neatest hot wiring job she had ever seen. Everything was so tidy, it almost looked like it was factory installed.

Then she noticed something odd,"What's the nob for?"

"So I can dial down the power if it proves to be too much. I wired three parallel series, should give you a lot more power, but it risks blowing the engine if it's too much."

She got in and slammed the throttle to the floor, expecting to have to push the car just to get to normal speeds. She immediately regretted it. Whatever the kid had done, she now had more horses under the hood than ever before. Unfortunately, steering was still a little wonky, and the tires spinning didn't help any.

He grabbed onto the dash,"Hey, take it easy. Didn't you hear what I said?"

"Sorry." She backed off on the throttle as they sped toward their destination."Where did you learn to do that?"

He decided to tell her half the truth, thinking that a secret hideout should remain such,"I wasn't always a hunky sex addict. There was a time when I just read. Too much perhaps, but I'm not complaining. The theory I gained has come in handy on several occasions already."

"Is that where you learned to do that thing you did to me?"

"No, that was actually practical experience. I've been experimenting with my girlfriend, putting theory into practice, for three months now."

Misato leveled off her speed and grabbed a cellphone out of the center console. She punched a speed dial number and hit send,"Hey Ritsuko, I got him. Were about fifteen minutes from the east entrance. Please have a car train waiting for us, an express of course."

She hung up and punched the throttle again. The car rocketed forward, pressing them into their seats. Then the noise from the engine began to fade and they slowed. Misato looked at the dash, trying to find some indication of the problem. Then she looked over at Shinji, who had his hand in the back seat,"What are you doing?"

"Insuring my survival."

She humphed,"You know you're no fun."

"I just don't take risks where risk is the prime factor. Now if you want to try sky diving some time, I'm game. At least there the chance of debilitating injury without death is smaller."

She smiled,"Okay, I get your point. And that does sound like fun, but could you give me just a little bit more. We are on the clock here." He reached back and increased the power by twenty five percent, feeling the seat try to merge with him again.

ooo000OOO000ooo

The car was locked down and the train started moving. Misato grabbed a small bag out of the back and started looking for something in it,"Do you have the ID I sent you?" Shinji extracted the card and folded piece of paper from his pocket, handing them over. He received a small book in exchange,"Here, read this."

The words 'Welcome to NERV' printed on the cover suggested this was just the icing on an unimaginably dark and rotten cake. He was then struck breathless as the car cleared the tunnel it had been riding in,"Wow, a real Geo front." He gaped at the sight of the city hanging from the ceiling of the giant chasm. Even his mind, long ago deprived of the innocence of youth, could not deny the shear grandness of this place.

Misato was glad to see that he still had some sense of wonder,"That's right. This is our secret underground base. NERV Central. This city is the key to rebuilding out world. A fortress for all mankind."

"And this is my father's work?"

"Yeah."

"Well that confirms it. He is the most arrogant bastard on the planet. He abandoned his own son to go off and save the world. Fucking Asshole." Shinji then began flipping through the book Misato had given him.

They sat in silence for five minutes. Shinji reading at a lightning pace and Misato considering how much she had in common with this boy. They both hated their fathers for the same reason. They had been left behind while their fathers had gone off to do something more important to them. If he was just a couple years older she could see herself falling for him. But then again he said he was more experienced, and she didn't think he was exaggerating.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Shinji closing the book and saying."Okay. Thats probably the biggest load of crap I've read since the beginning of the original Kama Sutra. So, what else is there?"

She thought,'Well there's another piece of information'. "What do you mean?"

"There has to be some reason for him to send for me. And nothing in here comes even close to explaining why. So what else is there?"

This could get complicated,"There are a few things that aren't in there. But their classified."

"I'm probably going to get that clearance any minute now, or I won't leave this place alive."

She considered this for a moment,"Okay, I'll tell you. There is a project known as Evangelion. It's a giant robot designed specifically to fight against the Angels. That's what we call that monster that almost killed you, an Angel."

He scratched his chin in a manner that made him look much older,"And, what else?"

She sighed,"The Evangelion can be piloted by almost anyone. But only certain children born after Second Impact can get it to project an AT field. Thats why conventional weapons have no effect on the Angel, it projects it's own field. But two opposed fields can cancel each other and allow the Angel to be harmed. We believe they have the ability to regenerate, thats why we developed some specialized weapons to fight them. Among these is the Progressive Knife. It's an extendable blade that vibrates. This causes it to cut hundreds of times with every strike."

"So that's the reason." He said."The old bastard thinks that I'm one of these children. And he wants me to pilot the Evangelion into combat. And with no training. Bastard."

"Shinji, I don't know why he sent for you. We didn't even pick up the Angel until this morning. He could have just wanted to talk. But that would explain why he had me send you an ID to get here." She turned his face to look at her and set her other hand on his shoulder." It's a huge responsibility to heap on you. And he is more arrogant to expect you to do this after the way he's treated you. But the survival of every human depends on us defeating the Angels. If we don't, it will cause a Third Impact and no one will survive."

He never had a chance to respond. At that moment they arrived at the base of the track and headed into the massive structure. Five minutes of wondering through corridors and Shinji stopped, holding out his hand for the map. Misato looked back at him,"Come on, we have to keep moving."

Shinji didn't move except to flex his fingers,"Let me see the map, you are about to lead us in a circle."

Misato looked indignant,"I am not. True this place can get you turned around, but we can't get list that easily."

"We have taken six rights and two lefts." He pointed with his other hand," That marking, we passed it four minutes ago."

Misato deflated slightly and handed over the sheet of paper. Shinji studied it for thirty seconds, photographing each detail mentally. Then he handed it back and started walking. She followed silently, checking the map periodically to determine their progress. To her astonishment Shinji was taking the most direct route possible to the Eva cages. She had been here a while and she still got lost, while he had just stepped foot in this place and was navigating the confusing corridors like he helped build them. They came to a moving walkway and got on. As soon as Shinji was sure of his footing her turned to face her,"So is there anything else I need to know about?"

"Yeah, Second Impact. The official press release was that a very small meteor slammed into Antarctica at a significant fraction of the speed of light. This was a lie to cover up the worst blunder in human history. Eep." Misato clutched at her skirt as the wind from a door opening caused it to flutter up. Shinji was relieved to note that she at least had the decency to wear panties, if not a bra. She finished adjusting her skirt and continued,"We found the first Angel, Adam, buried under the ice. It had been dormant for thousands of years, just waiting for someone to find it and dig it out. During the excavation process it woke up, devastating the entire continent." Her hand went to her chest, unconsciously tracing something under her cross."The sound it made, like the death of everything coming to find you. They blasted it with N-2 mines, reducing it to a charred cinder."

Shinji realized that Misato had been there, at the single most devastating event the human race had ever experienced. She had survived, scarred mentally, and probably physically if the rubbing was any indication, but survived. His respect for her went up several notches right there and he vowed to not be too hard on her. Anyone who could keep their sanity after that deserved a little leeway. He put his hand on her shoulder,"Sorry you had to remember that. I won't even begin to claim I understand what you went through. But I am sorry you had to relive it for me." He hugged her close and gently patted her back, letting her take a moment to collect herself. As he let her go another burst of wind hit them and this time he got an eye full of her panties. As she scrambled to cover herself again he cocked his head,"I really don't think pink would go too well with your hair color."

She laughed weakly,"Laundry day. I usually wear lavender."

He smiled at her,"Come on, this is our stop." Shinji led her into a corridor that led straight to the Eva cages.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Ritsuko Akagi had been working her ass of to prep Unit 01 for activation. She was just pulling herself out of the lake of coolant when Misato walked in with the boy. She grabbed a towel and a lab coat, then went to meet the newest addition to the team."Hey Misato, how did you manage to get here so fast? I was expecting a call to come collect you any time now."

"Well you can thank Shinji here for that. He took one look at the map and led us right here."

Ritsuko looked down at the boy. His face looked just like the file photo, but the similarities ended there. His build was much more solid, like a professional athlete. And that look in his eyes, like he was studying every detail of her body and soul, memorizing her for future reference. She had seen that same look in Gendo's eyes, but his son had something more. A gentle playfulness that promised so much. She wondered if Gendo had ever looked like that as she held out her hand,"Thank you, Shinji Ikari for keeping our Misato from getting eternally lost. Again."

Shinji kissed the back of her hand,"Not a problem. But I must admit it was more self preservation. Starving to death in the bowls of a huge underground fortress just doesn't appeal to me." He grinned wickedly,"And while Misato's body might sustain me for a while, I prefer girls alive and squirming. They taste better that way."

Ritsuko nearly choked as she fought to suppress the laughter the combination of serious tone, evil grin, and exactly what he said had caused to erupt from her.

Misato just looked stunned. She couldn't believe he had just said that to a woman he just met. Unlike Misato he had no point of reference with Ritsuko. Had he just made a round about pass at both of them. This kid had balls, that was for sure.

Ritsuko recovered her composure, taking several deep breaths to steady herself,"No, you are nothing like your father. I don't think I've ever heard him crack a joke. And the thought of him propositioning a woman," she shook her head,"Just can't picture it. It is a pleasure to meet you Shinji. My name is Ritsuko Akagi, but you can call me Ritsuko."

"A pleasure. So may I ask is that your usual work attire?" He gestured at her green one piece and lab coat.

The woman struck a pose and rotated slowly,"Why, is it distracting?"

Shinji knew he could have too much fun with this,"Not any more than Misato's outfit. But I would like to know if NERV puts out a swimsuit calender every year?"

Akagi chuckled,"Not that I'm aware of. But with the budget being as tight as it is, that could be a good fund raiser." She gestured toward a hallway,"Lets go to my office. There I can change, and we can get you up to speed." The trio left the storage bay as the other techs worked frantically to get Unit 01 ready for battle.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji was relaxing on the couch in Ritsuko's office, sipping tea and listening to her and Misato explain about NERV and the Evas when the alarms went off."The Angel has finished it's regeneration cycle and is once again advancing toward Tokyo-3." The young woman's voice came over the speaker system.

Misato stood and led the way back to the Eva cages. Suddenly Shinji found himself face to face with a giant clad in purple armor the same shade as Katsuragi's hair. He looked at the Operations Director,"Did you have something to do with the paint job?"

She smiled,"They were asking around for a good color and my suggestion happened to be the one they chose. Do you like it?"

Shinji could see the loaded nature of the question,"It's very interesting, but I think it looks better on you." He turned to face the robot and felt a chill run down his back. He knew it from somewhere, a memory trace long suppressed."So this is my father's work?"

A resounding voice filled the room,"Correct." All eyes went to the control booth above and behind the Eva. There stood a thin figure in a charcoal uniform and orange tinted glasses.

Shinji's eyes locked with his and for several seconds they stared at each other. Finally Gendo broke the silence,"It's been a while."

Shinji shook his head,"Is that all you can say? Ten years since we've spoken to each other. Two since the last time we saw one another. And the best you can come up with is 'It's been a while.'" The anger in Shinji's voice was like a living thing, growing with every word until he spat his father's half hearted excuse for familial sentiment back at him. He narrowed his eyes,"Why did you send for me?"

Gendo remained calm,"Because I have a use for you."

"You want me to pilot this thing, is that it?"

"Yes"

"Well FUCK YOU! I don't care if the survival of humanity depends on the Angels being defeated. If that's the best you can do then let the world burn."

Gendo turned to a bank of screens,"Fuyutsuki, wake up Rei, our spare is worthless."

"But can she do it?"

"She's not dead yet." They stood there staring each other down for five more minutes. Then a side door opened and a gurney was rolled in with a blue haired girl on it. Half of her face and one of her arms was covered in bandages. Shinji was just about to speak when the whole room shook, upsetting the rolling bed and sending the girl crashing toward the floor.

Two beings moved at once. Shinji all but teleported to the injured girl and caught her, gently easing her down into a sitting position in his arms. The Eva tore loose from it's restraints and brought it's right hand up to cover the two children, causing a falling I beam to deflect and embed itself in the thick window behind which the elder Ikari stood with a smirk on his face.

Shinji held the poor creature gently, doing his best not to cause her any more pain. As he looked at her a humorous thought struck him, causing him to chuckle darkly."So thats it father? Pilot the Eva or the kitten gets it."

The reference to the appearance of the A-10 clips was not lost on Gendo, who also chuckled,"As you say."

"So be it." Shinji stood, careful not to jostle the girl and hooked his foot under the overturned gurney. In one fluid motion he righted the gurney and lightly placed the girl on it. Then he touched several pressure points and she relaxed as endorphens were releases into her system.

Taking his hand away from her back he saw it was covered in her blood. 'Time for the mind fuck' he thought as he reached up and covered the left side of his face in red. Everyone on the platform looked on in horror as he turned and spoke,"By the blood of my allies all our enemies shall perish." Then he looked at his father,"They shall pay for her pain."

Gendo was still grinning when he turned away and said,"Get on with it."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji was wearing a generic plug suit, gray with black trim, as he sat on the control couch. The entry plug was inserted and his couch hoisted into it. With the hatch sealed he was momentarily plunged into darkness. Just as his eyes began adjusting the emergency lighting kicked in, bathing the smooth surface in red light. He felt the plug rotate as it was inserted into the Eva's neck. Then the lighting switched to normal white light as the plug connected to the rest of the power grid.

Ritsuko's voice came over intercom,"Okay Shinji, we're going to fill the entry plug with LCL now. It will feel a little weird at first but don't panic." The tube quickly filled with a yellowish liquid. Shinji suppressed his drowning reflex and took the strange liquid into his lungs. Within seconds the queasy sensation faded and he breathed normally.

Shinji felt a mild tingling in his extremities,"What's this stuff do?"

"It oxygenates your blood, cushions impacts, and provides a neural link to the Eva, along with the A-10 clips. With a little training you should be able to control the Eva as if it were an extension of your own body."

"That explains the half asleep feeling in my hands. Most of the Eva is without power, so it is practically asleep."

Ritsuko hesitated a second,"Yes. But you shouldn't be able to feel it yet. The connection is just barely open."

"If you have a better explanation, I'm all ears. Otherwise, let's continue. I have an Angel to kill."

"We'll start making the connections, this is gonna feel.."

"A little strange, I know" The tingling subsided as power was routed to the Eva's systems. He could feel the giant awakening around him as if it was his own body. The sensation of increasing power was mildly intoxicating, forcing him to calm his nerves. This thing may be the most destructive piece of machinery ever built, but it has a purpose. One for which it is specifically designed.

"We're going to start making the neural connections." The walls of the plug dissolved as his own senses were supplemented by those of the Eva. He could see the cage surrounding the Eva, hear the techs doing their last minute checks, and feel the restraints holding him back. He also sensed something else, something else in the Eva with him. A kindred spirit waking up, reaching out to his mind.

He heard the control room chatter over the line,"he appears to be holding steady at fifteen percent synchronization."

"Okay, Shinji we're going to close the control circuits now"

"Roger" Then he felt the mind rush toward him, resonating with his own thoughts. He caught glimpses of scenes that contained erotic passion in ways he had never experienced it."Who are you" he thought.

The mind withdrew and condensed,"It's me Shinji. It's Yui, your mother."

"Mother!? But they said you died. How can it be you?" His excitement was palpable in the mental landscape where they resided.

"I was testing the early sync technology when there was an accident. I was absorbed by the Eva and became part of it's control system."

"Why didn't they tell me about this? Why did they think I would have a problem controlling the Eva if your here to help me?"

"Because they don't know I can help you. I have never been able to connect to another mind like this. I guess it's because you are just as deviant as I am. Thats the first part of myself that I can share with another when they connect. Most people can't relate to it so further connections are impossible. But since you could we are able to communicate at a much deeper level." She paused and Shinji could sense that she was crying."My son, I'm so sorry I couldn't have been there for you. I never meant for this to happen, but the beast won't let me go."

"Beast? You mean the Eva's primary consciousness. I can feel it now. So much rage." The Eva struggled against it's bonds, trying to get loose. Trying to destroy the enemy that was so close.

"It is privative, but you can use that anger and hatred to help you kill the Angels. There is so much you need to know, let me show you." She moved into him, more gently this time. His mind was filled with too much knowledge to process all at once. Second Impact, SEELE, The Eva, The Angels, Gendo...

Shinji recoiled from the knowledge of his father,"I know all I need to know about him."

Yui gently receded,"He did terrible things, but he never meant to hurt you. Please give him a chance. Our time is almost up, one last thing. The AT field is more than they think, if you master it you can do anything."

"What do you mean?" He asked, but the connection was fading and the flow of time for him was returning to normal.

He heard Ritsuko's voice,"Shinji, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, why?"

"We registered a spike in your sync ratio. It shot up to over one hundred ninety percent for a fraction of a second. We were about to terminate the connection when it came back down and has stabilized at eighty. Are you sure there's nothing wrong?"

"I'm fine Doc. Let's get this show on the road." He could feel the Beast still thrashing around and reached out to it,'Control yourself and I will help you. Work with me and we will kill them all.' To his surprise the angry soul focused and stilled. It retained the seething core of rage, but the desperate attempts to rend control from him ceased.

"Here we go again. Sync ratio rising, ninety, ninety three, ninety five. Sync ratio holding at ninety five percent."

"Shinji what are you doing?"

"It's okay, just negotiating with the Eva. We're ready."

There was a short pause and then Ritsuko's voice came over the link again,"I have no idea how he's doing it. But all our instrumentation shows the highest safe sync ratio ever recorded."

Misato sighed,"Move the Eva to the catapult."

Shinji tensed,"Catapult. What catapult?"

Ritsuko responded,"Just relax, we use an electromagnetic catapult to launch you to the surface. The whole trip takes about five seconds, but the LCL will make it so you hardly feel it."

Shinji smiled,"Cool, you're gonna fire me out of a rail gun. Awesome! But wait a second, I gotta find something." He paused and data started streaming up the screens at the bridge. No alarms went off and the text vanished a second later, leaving a confused look on Maya's face. She looked at Ritsuko and shrugged as the first synth cords pumped through the speakers.

As the Eva neared the launch pad the lyrics started:

My body's made of fire  
Black and deep and cold  
Burning for the choice I made  
So many years ago

And love will keep me tethered  
For my wings are stripped of flight  
But into my mad deluded world  
They cross the battle lines

Into their end

The Eva was locked into place and the launch path opened.

One dream of God  
One dream of less  
One dream of strength and cowardice

The Eva rocketed toward the surface, Shinji screaming the next line along with the music

With the rage of the seraphs at my side

Gendo, Fuyutsuki, Ritsuko and Aoba understood the song, but each one had a slightly different reaction. Aoba tapped his foot to the beat, letting the sounds wash over him while focusing on his console. Ritsuko was amused at the reference to the Eva's origin, refusing to believe that the musical choice was a coincidence. Fuyutsuki was wondering how the boy could know about one of the best kept secrets in the world. Gendo. Gendo was, as always, a force unto himself. He sat there with a genuine grin on his face as the music brought back memories of Yui and him going to raves when they were younger. They never touched the 'recreational' drugs prominent at such parties, instead getting high on the music and each other. Yui had a contagious passion for music, the faster the better. She could keep step with anything, causing him to push himself to his limits to keep up. Gendo also remembered that the second best sex they had ever shared was right after a rave.

The few seconds it took Shinji to reach the surface saw Gendo go from nostalgic pondering to iron clad resolve as he again vowed to get her back. He sneered at fate, carefully hidden behind his steepled hands.

Shinji slammed to a stop as the last syllable of the line ended. The Angel was standing at the end of the block, studying this new arrival. The locks were released and the Eva lurched forward to balance itself.

"Shinji, just concentrate on walking." Misato advised.

Shinji could feel the Eva's rage surging with it's foe in sight.'Now, give me all you've got and it will die.'

"Fuck that!" Shinji crouched and ran toward the Angel, barely avoiding a beam that vaporised the catapult frame. He leaped into the Angel, hitting an AT field. The hexagonal pattern of folded space shifted as he countered with his own. He deployed the Prog knife and used it to slash through the week fabric created by the AT interactions. Then the Angel fired again, barely missing as Shinji tilted his head out of the way.

The Eva was just as affected by pain as he was, trying to avoid damage by pointing out features of the enemy. Yui watched and gave advice when it came to tactics, proud of her son. Shinji was just busy fighting to survive. He shifted the grip in his weapon and spun to the left, planting the blade to the hilt in the targets back. Then he reversed the spin and his grip, burying the knife in the Angel's core. He shifted his balance and spun to deliver a kick that shattered the core and sent the Angel flying toward the edge of the city.

Or that was the intention. As soon as The Eva's foot made contact with the Angel's core it detonated, enveloping the Eva in a cross shaped explosion. Misato's breathing shuddered,"Is the Eva?"

Her question was answered as Shinji's voice, accompanied by the music came over the speakers,"With the Rage of the Seraphs at my Side." The Eva stalked slowly out of the expanding red field of plasma, as though it had just stepped out of one of the deeper pits of hell. Shinji looked at the Eva's reflection in a building's windowed face. The eye holes were melted into narrow slits that gave off a sinister glow,"Hello Eva, nice to meet you." The Eva roared in satisfaction at the efficient death of it's cousin.

Misato stared in disbelief, wondering what kind of monster they had just released on the world. And what did that say about the boy that had tamed it. She found Shinji terrifying and exciting, wanting to run away from him and bed him at the same time. Considerations of age and parentage coursed through her hormone soaked mind to little avail. She looked around the command bridge and saw portions of her thoughts mirrored on the other faces. Ritsuko and Maya looked like they were in heat, and they had never felt how skilled his hands were. Her nipples hardened at the memory.

Then she looked at the men present, finding Gendo as the only one not terrified by the visage of death incarnate on the screen. The Commander had put his hands on the desk and was openly smiling. Not the small grin of victory but the lopsided grin of a father for his progeny. Weather for Shinji or the Eva Misato couldn't be sure, but it made her uncomfortable to be in the same room as such a smirk.

She turned back as Shinji's face appeared in a comm window,"Hey, would someone like to tell me where to go to get back down?"

The bridge crew became animate again as they directed the Eva to another catapult, the one he used to get up there having been vaporized in the fight.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Ritsuko and Misato were waiting for Shinji as the entry plug was unloaded. Misato could feel things inside her that had been suppressed since Kaji had left her.

Ritsuko had never felt this level of attraction for anyone. This boy was intelligent, funny and absolutely certifiable. She found his ability to do the impossible exciting and the amount of damage he could do appalling. Once, she had heard her mother describe Gendo in that way, but Ritsuko had never seen it. True he was smart and powerful, but something inside him had died with his wife. Her mother had confessed to sleeping with him the week after her good friend Yui had died. She had described the cold feeling in his arms, the shame in his eyes. After Ritsuko got to know him better she was immeasurably glad for Naoko's warning.

Shinji walked up to the two women,"I didn't know that victory required a duel escort. But since it's you two lovely ladies I guess it's okay." He flashed them a knowing grin that made both women blush lightly.

Ritsuko said,"We need to preform a post battle physical and debriefing. It's standard procedure."

Shinji snorted,"Sure doc, if you say so. Lead on." He waved his arm in a wide arc to punctuate his words. The two women flanked him as they left the cage for the exam room. Once there he striped the plug suit off while making suggestions about what he would like his official one to look like.

Standing naked before the two women he could feel their eyes tracking over his body, noting the lingering stairs at certain places. He made a show of turning away from them to sit on the exam table. Ritsuko came over and placed a half dozen electrodes on his head and a similar number on his chest."I notice that you have a great deal more muscle mass than your file indicated?"

The statement was pitched as a question so he decided to respond cryptically,"Well, jogging in the country side every few days has probably helped. Martial arts training has defiantly added some definition and tone. And then theirs the aerobics."

Ritsuko waited for him to continue before asking,"Could you be a little more specific?"

Shinji smiled,"Lets see, ten kilometers out to my favorite camp site, jogging the whole way. Usually with at least ten kilos extra weight. Then anywhere from a day to three in the middle of nowhere. Follow that with a mirror jog back, a little less weight. Then Aikido and Judo classes twice a week. And finally long aerobics sessions, sometimes lasting all day."

Ritsuko raised an eyebrow,"All day aerobics? What kind of aerobics?"

"The kind that take two people."

Shinji laughed as the two women face faulted,"You asked for it." Recovering Misato commented,"You need to be careful when you ask him direct questions Rits. He will give you direct answers when you least expect it."

"I'm beginning to see that." She examined the one of the screens in front of her,"Shinji, are you feeling okay?"

"Do you ask all your pilots that question a half dozen times on their first day?"

"No, just the ones that continue to preform outside the accepted parameters of our guidelines. Your brain activity is abnormally high."

"What does that mean?" Misato said, leaning over to study the screen as well.

"It looks like his temporal lobe is going crazy. I'd say he's probably written a day of memory in the last minute. He could have processed two months since the battle ended."

"Well that explains why I'm so hungry." Both women jumped as Shinji's voice sounded between them,"Not to worry, it should go back to normal by tomorrow."

Ritsuko stood and carefully turned to face Shinji,"How do you know that?"

Shinji looked her in the eyes,"By then I should have absorbed as much as I can and my brain will dump the rest. Right now I'm just trying to store all the information I soaked up in the Eva."

"Did the Eva try to make contact with you?"

"No, just had a long conversation. That's where I learned about going after the core."

The women looked at each other, wondering how much of the truth he was telling them. Finally Ritsuko spoke,"It doesn't look like there's anything actually wrong. You appear to be in peak physical condition and the brain activity isn't dangerous at the moment. But I'd like to see you tomorrow afternoon to make sure it returns to normal."

"Done." Shinji said, peeling the contacts off as he headed for the locker room. Ten minutes later he emerged to find Misato waiting for him,"You didn't have to wait. I'm sure I can find my father's office on my own."

"Just wanted to make sure you don't get too lost in this maze."

Shinji smiled at the joke told by the Captain with no sense of direction,"Lead on then. I want to get this over with so I can find someplace to stay tonight."

Misato and Shinji walked in silence for most of the short trip. She was trying to decide if her first impulse was really a good idea. Should she invite this boy to live with her, knowing what she did about her own feelings and his attitude. But he was just a kid and shouldn't be on his own. As Shinji went into the imposing office she headed for a phone.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Gendo Ikari was seated behind his desk in his usual intimidating posture with Kozo Fuyutsuki behind him. Shinji quickly took in the details of the room with his photographic memory, making the headache he had been ignoring even worse by trying to force even more data into his already overtaxed brain. He came to a stop five feet from the desk and came to attention,"Pilot Ikari reporting."

"What do you want?" Gendo said.

"To state the terms of my service."

"What do you mean, 'Terms'?"

"You can't expect me to continue piloting for no better reason than just to protect Aunt Rei."

Gendo smiled, realizing the full extent of what his son had learned in the Eva."What do you want?"

"One million yen a month for each of the pilots. Plus Emancipated youth status."

"Is there anything else?"

"Yes. 'She' asked me to give you a chance." He waited a moment to let the implications of this sink in,"And I will, but not tonight."

Gendo gave no sign of his deep surprise,"Done. You may go."

Shinji turned with no further comment and walked slowly from the room, a smile creeping onto his face. Just as he reached the door Gendo spoke,"You did well out there."

Shinji didn't bother slowing down.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Misato was just hanging up when Shinji came out. She couldn't believe he was smiling. No one smiled as they left that office. She walked up to him,"So, how did it go?"

"It went great, got everything I wanted. And more."

"Well, I've got more good news. I got approval to have you come and live with me. So that solves that problem for you."

Shinji stared at her before his face broke into a grin. Then he felt the first few spasms hit his body. Soon he had dissolved into outright laughter, not believing how this woman could see this as a good idea after all that had happened today. Finally regaining control,"Misato, I do appreciate the gesture. And I'll take you up on the offer for a night or two. But I'm still gonna find my own place." He started walking toward the elevator,"I've just got too much going on to have a roommate."

ooo000OOO000ooo

The storm has come to Tokyo-3. Hope you like the chapter. Please read and review.

Thanks for the great response.

I changed the classification to Shinji/Any because this is starting to look like a Harem Fic.

Thanks to my wife for proofing this for me.


	6. Chapter 6: Revilations

Hentai Shinji Chapter 6: Revelations

Shinji was so distracted by his aching head that he hardly noticed where Misato was driving to until she stopped. She looked down at him,"Come on." She said gently,"You might like this."

He wasn't sure but he got out and followed her toward the cliff railing. He looked out over Tokyo-3 and found it rather unimpressive. Somewhat disappointing from what he thought a metropolis should look like. He glanced over at her as she said, looking at her watch,"Now."

He again looked at the city as a loud siren sounded. Then hundreds of giant locking bolts rose out of the pavement, followed by dozens of large doors opening. Then buildings appeared to grow out of the ground, greatly resembling time-lapse photography of grass growing, save that the lighting never changed. The backdrop of the sun just barely above the mountains turned what would have been an amazing scene into a truly beautiful sight.

Shinji had to suppress the urge to mentally photograph the sight, not wishing to add to the pain in his head.

Misato could see the wonder on the young man's face,"This is Tokyo-3. The city you saved." He dropped his gaze after the locking bolts reinserted. Then he started walking back to car, just wanting to get to bed. Misato followed, knowing that he had endured a hell of a lot today.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji had already taken two aspirin and two ibuprofen before they got to Misato's apartment building. The throbbing in his head was holding, just barely, thanks to the chemical intervention. All he really wanted was a nice long soak and as much sleep as possible.

He got out of the car and hefted the groceries from the trunk. The elevator ride up to the captain's floor was uneventful, both passengers just listening to the bell as they reached each floor.

Shinji noted the bags of garbage outside her door on an unconscious level, thinking that it must be the protocol for this city.

Then he was assaulted by the most noxious smell imaginable as the door opened. He felt a wave of dizziness sweep over him as his stomach turned, forcing him to take a step back to steady himself. Misato smiled weakly,"Sorry about the mess."

He used what little willpower he had to spare to force the caustic retort she deserved into the back of his mind. He finally managed to speak, adding taste to smell, and regretting it,"It's not so bad. We should get the cold stuff put away."

He stepped over the threshold behind her, doing his best to breath shallow.

Entering the kitchen he saw the primary source of the smells. There were dozen of empty instant noodle containers laying around and a huge pile of half crushed beer cans with the top of the trash can peeking out. The stove had a short stack of dirty pans on one corner.

The beleaguered teen cautiously made his way to the fridge, careful not to step on anything other than floor. Pulling open the first section he found it loaded with bagged ice. He wondered as to the reason for this with the built in ice maker obviously present while he rearranged the contents to fit the new additions.

Shinji then opened the next section and found it packed with snacks. He again made room for the few items and closed that section. Mildly worried about what he might find in the last section he opened it carefully. The sight of row after row of beer caused his eyes to widen. How could someone need this much cooled beer at one time? His unspoken question was answered by the sight of the buried trash can as he closed the fridge.

His eyes were heavy from the long day and medication, causing him to curse his rotten luck in getting stuck here for the night. By the time Misato came into the kitchen he had decided to spend the next two hours cleaning, with her help. He did not care if she agreed or not.

He sighed,"I suppose we should start cleaning, then I'll prepare dinner while you get a bath." He said this without looking at her, busy clearing a side of the sink.

Misato paused with her hand on the beer fridge, wondering how serious he was. His back continuing to face her as he turned on the tap caused her to decide he was dead serious. She opened the door and extracted a can of her usual poison. She noticed him tense when she popped the top and drained it in one swig.

When she lowered the can with a satisfied belch he was looking at her with a roll of trash bags in his hands."Enjoy it?" He asked.

She tossed the empty can onto the pile and answered,"Best thing after a hard day." Her enthusiastic tone was met with the roll of bags flying into them.

"Go ahead and start at the far end. I'll work in here." He turned away again and started scrubbing at the dried on food.

Fifteen minutes later she returned to find the kitchen empty. No trash or Shinji in sight. Most of the few dishes were cleaned and only two of the pans had been set in the sink to soak. She was about to reach for her 'ambrosia' supply when she noticed the broom handle stuck through the fridge handles with bells tied to each end."Why that sneaky little..." She muttered.

As she was about to move the improvised alarm she heard someone speak from directly behind her,"Can I help you Misato?"

She jumped and spun around, slamming into the bells and causing a clatter."I just came to get something to drink."

He nodded and walked to the sink, extracted a clean glass and got ice from the dispenser on the fridge. He filled it with water from a filtered pitcher she had forgotten buying. He then thrust it into her hand and returned to cleaning.

Misato stood there for a second, looking at the ice melting in the out of place drink. A few seconds later Shinji looked up,"Is there something else?"

His tone was friendly but his eyes dared her to argue. She decided to let it go, this time. She took a long pull on the water, making a face from the lack of flavor and turned to leave.

Half an hour later Misato was just finishing taking out the last of the trash from the rest of the apartment when the scent of cooking food reached her nose. She stuck her head into the kitchen and was astonished to find how spotless it was. Somehow he had managed to sanitize every square centimeter that could be, and was still able to start dinner.

"Here you go. Dinner will still be a few minutes if you want to find something to watch." He said as he placed a beer in her hand.

She popped the top without a word, still confused by the boy's efficiency and almost precognitive intuition.

Dinner was something she could not recognize from sight, smell or taste. The flavor and aroma were complex and played off each other to make several sensation as the food moved from plate to throat. The really surprising part was how little chemical heat it had. She had been firmly convinced that the only way to have flavorful food was to make it so spicy that it was just short of toxic.

Shinji paused between bites to ask,"How do you like it?"

She swallowed the mouthful she had and took another swig to clear he mouth before responding,"It's great. I don't think I've ever had anything this good. But what is it?"

"Sautéed chicken and bell peppers with fried noodles. My aunt taught me the recipe shortly before I came here."

She lifted a strip of red vegetable,"This is a pepper?" She ate it,"But it's not hot."

Shinji chuckled,"It depends on how you prepare it. If you take off the right parts you end up with a more fruity taste."

They ate quietly after that, as Misato applied herself to the dinner and Shinji's eyes were starting to droop again. He finished first and stood,"If you will excuse me, I'm going to get a bath."

"Okay, need any help?" She asked, realizing that this slip left him free to proposition her. She also realized that cutting back on alcohol might be a good idea for as long as Shinji was staying here, just to keep from making any more slips.

Shinji held up one finger and grinned at her. He winked and walked away.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Misato was still just a little fidgety as she got out of the bathroom, wondering when Shinji's retribution would come. She knew it was coming, having seen the unspoken promise in his wink. She still got bothered by the memory of his brief touch back in her car. Then she would shudder at the thought of what his father would do to her if he even caught a hint of what had happened.

She heard the TV on in the living room but could not make out the words. As she made her way down the hall the noise disappeared and the light turned off, plunging her into darkness.

The captain felt around on the wall for for the light switch for a moment. Then the hall light switched on and she found Shinji standing less than a foot from her.

He grinned wickedly,"Ready for bed?" He asked.

She felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise."Have you picked a room?"

Shinji nodded,"Sure, I'll use the small one right across from yours."

She relaxed slightly, feeling the built up tension drain from the situation. But the soldier in her told her to stay alert, it was still coming.

He decided to stop torturing her and stepped forward, turning his face up toward her. She leaned down to kiss his forehead.

What she got was his lips pressed against hers with his fingertips running slowly up her left arm. Her shock was quickly supplanted by a physical reaction she could not control. Misato's control issue was one of inexperience, having only had to deal with Kaji's memories eliciting such response. She could feel his tongue gently running over her lips and hers wanting to answer in kind. Finally his hand reached her neck and she could no longer fight it, opening her mouth to his probing.

A full minute later he stepped back and smiled gently,"Okay, I think that should do it." He slid past her, lightly brushing her hip with his hand.

Misato finally came out of it when she heard the click of his door sliding shut. She slumped against the wall and made her way to her bed on shaky legs. As she got into bed she pulled the sheet over her and flipped the lights off.

But sleep did not come immediately. She lay in the dark and felt a warm tingle spread through her middle, reviewing the actions of the day. Then it hit her, he had deliberately pulled back just as her body was getting geared up for something more. How he had gauged this she did not care, but it scared her that he had such abilities. Then she felt her hand start to move up her thigh of it's own volition. The wet sensation that met her touch only served to intensify the feelings. Then she could no longer resist it and gave into the passion.

ooo000OOO000ooo

The next morning Misato emerged from her room in a worse state than usual. Besides not having even a small fraction of her usual beer intake, she had been awoken several times during the night by disturbing dreams. The gist was erotic, with Kaji randomly morphing into Shinji, and then his father would burst in and shoot her.

The smells wafting out of the kitchen helped to distract her from the dull ache of her body. She ducked into the bathroom just long enough to relieve the morning pressure and splash some water on her face. When she entered the dining room she found the table set for two with Pen-Pen's bowl sitting on the floor at the end of the table. Shinji brought out two skillets and started loading the plates, finishing by putting the last of it into Pen-Pen's bowl. As she slid into a seat he reemerged with a glass of fruit juice and a beer.

"About time you got up." Shinji said with a gentle smile."Trouble sleeping?"

She scowled at him,"Slept like a baby." She lied as she opened the beer.

His grin turned evil before he began eating, hinting to her that it had indeed been a punishment. Well, she had deserved it, according to their deal.

After breakfast he cleaned up and waited for her to get ready to go to NERV. They left half an hour later, Misato still shivered every time she saw the evil grin on his face.

She decided to try to get back at him through her driving. But quickly realized that he was somehow suppressing any reaction, not even cringing from the high-speed hairpin turns. The last five minutes she just drove normally, which would still cause any other person to have a nervous break down.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Ritsuko still couldn't believe her reaction to the young man before her. His chiseled build reminded her of the pictures of "The David" she had seen. The sculpture was not as exciting as Shinji, which forced her to concede that it was his personality that attracted her. He was warmly playful while still being calculating. If his father had that warmth she might have fallen for him.

She shook off the sensation with a flick of her hair and returned to the displays, running a comparison of his brain activity over sixteen hours. His memory center activity had dropped eighty percent from the last scan, bringing him back to just above human norm. His total active area was currently fluctuating between twenty and thirty percent.

Ritsuko stored the new scan, hoping that it represented a still elevated state. If this was his baseline, she shivered at the thought.

She felt a presence behind her and turned to see Shinji repeating his posture from yesterday, peering over her shoulder.

He grinned,"Say Doc. Could you help me with something?"

Her inner voice screamed 'YES!',"What can I help you with?"

"Is there anything I can read on the AT field? I got a strange feeling from it yesterday." He lied.

She gulped,"What kind of feeling?"

"Just that it might be more than a simple barrier."

She peered into his eyes, searching for the underlying meaning,"There is limited literature on the AT field. Most of it is old psychology and metaphysics. I can upload it to a disk if you like."

He nodded,"Please. Are we done?"

She nodded and turned back to her terminal.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji entered Rei's room with cheerful abandon, trying to put her into a like mood,"How's it going kitten?"

She looked at him, wondering how to respond.

He took her pause in stride,"Do you feel better than yesterday?"

"Yes."

"Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Yes."

"How did you get so torn up?"

"Piloting."

Shinji was beginning to suspect that single word, emotionless, monotone was her primary form of response. He started putting together a series of tentative plans to coax her out of her shell. They all started with learning as much as possible about her without her attention.

He sat in the chair next to her bed, taking her uninjured hand,"If you ever need something, just ask, Okay?"

"Like what?"

"Anything at all."

She nodded. The physical contact distracted her enough that some of the pain leaked through her control.

Shinji noticed the suppressed wince,"Do you need something for pain? I'll get the nurse."

"I do not receive pain medication."

"Why not?" "I must be ready to pilot at a moments notice."

He clenched his fist, hating his father even more for duping this poor girl into thinking she had to pilot at all cost."Let me see if I can help."

He moved to the foot of her bed and folded the sheet back, revealing her shapely and pale legs. He began carefully massaging her feet, hitting the pressure points in the right order to cause endorphin release. Misaki had enjoyed his gentle touch, but had a different reaction. Not surprising considering he used a slightly different group of motions on her.

As he moved to her ankles she sighed in release, the pain at it's lowest point in days. He continued to work up to her knees and then recovered her feet, moving to her uninjured arm. She continued to relax as he moved up to her shoulder.

As her eyes closed he stopped, leaning over her,"How does that feel?"

She spoke with her eyes closed, the voice distant,"Better. Thank you Pilot Ikari."

"Call me Shinji. I need to go."He said, placing a small peck on her cheek.

"Will you come back?"

He could hear the pleading sound of her voice,"I promise. I'll come and see you every day."

He left without any further words. Rei found herself strangely moved by her fellow pilot. She had never known compassion, only pity and disappointment. This caused her to review many of the experiences that formed her personality. A deeply buried part of her tugged at the edges of her consciousness, drawing her attention to how good he looked.

ooo000OOO000ooo

On the ride back to Misato's place Shinji opened the thick envelope that had been handed to him by a messenger on his way out of NERV. The contents were wrapped in a thin layer of plastic, which he tore easily and stuffed it back in the envelope.

The first thing he found was a new NERV ID. It looked just like his old one, which had been shredded on his way out. The letter just behind it explained that the ID could be used as any other ID with the added feature of linking to all three of his bank accounts. "Son of a Bitch." He mutter.

"What's up?" Misato asked.

"My Dad knows about my on line activities... And doesn't care."

"What on line activities?"

"Well, since my new EY status makes it legal, I run a website that sells hentai. Hey watch the road!"

He braced for the impact he knew was unavoidable. Misato quickly swerved and jinked back into her lane."Sorry. Did you actually say that you have a hentai site? And that your dad doesn't care?"

"Apparently," He said as he resumed a normal sitting position,"He linked the bank account I use for it into my card. That and with the emancipated youth status I can do just about anything you can."

She knew that second impact had seriously changed the world, causing most governments to lower the age of consent to bolster their militaries. This had put fully automatic weapons into the hands of sixteen year olds after only a month of training. Sanity had gradually returned to the world, but the changes were their to stay. Japan had gone one step further. Any youth with the balls to ask for separation from his parents would be, if they could prove ability to support them self, treated as an adult. This made them eligible for military service, either voluntarily or not, as conscription had been used at the time. Marriage was also now legal for emancipated youth. The main restrictions were the licensee to drive was still not issued until fourteen, not a concern for Shinji, and the chasing of skirts. Shinji was officially an adult and chasing after any girls his own age was therefore illegal.

He had carefully weighed the consequences of this action before demanding it, deeming it a fair trade. Besides, he knew most people could care less if he did go after anyone his own age. Not everyone had to know his status.

The real shock for Shinji had been that his dad hadn't shut him down. 'Maybe the old bastard wasn't as bad as he thought.'

He caught a glimpse of a realtor's office front as they went through an intersection,"Could you go back?" He said hurriedly.

"What's up?" She said as she skidded the car through a one-eighty.

"Just want to stop and pick up some information for house hunting."

Misato looked troubled as she slid into a parking space before the real estate agent's office."Are you still planning on living on your own?"

He smiled,"You're welcome to come and visit whenever you feel the urge."

He opened the door and ran inside before she could respond. He emerged a few minutes later with a small stack of pages.

"That was fast?" She said.

"Sent them an e-mail this morning saying I might stop by in the next few days. Speaks well of them that they already had it ready." He responded, leafing through the papers.

"Anywhere else we need to go?"

He checked his watch,"Can we make it to the DMV before they close?"

"It's only two, plenty of time. But are you planning on taking the test on this car?"

"Not quiet, I just want to take the cycle test. Should pass it easily."

She put the car in gear and backed into the lane, ignoring the indignant honks of other drivers. Pulling the shifter down two settings they rocketed down the street.

ooo000OOO000ooo

By that evening Shinji had a brand new high performance Kawasaki Ninja cubed. It had been named so because it combined stealth, speed and accuracy in ways, the company claimed, had never been done before. The engine noise was barely over ten decibels at full power, which could get it up to 160 in less than ten seconds. The other point was due to it's almost drag-free profile, which placed a small driver like Shinji completely inside the wind shadow, and it's responsive controls.

He had also selected the perfect place to live. It was a two story house on the outskirts of town. It was completely modern construction but in the traditional Japanese architecture. It had a dozen bedrooms, three baths, and two kitchens, all looking in on a large courtyard. It had been a bed and breakfast until the owners had decided to vacate town due to the first attack. They had decided to leave most of the furniture behind, allowing them to leave in only one day.

He decided that this was the best possible place to live if he managed to get even half the girls that he was hoping for. He understood the Chinese ideogram for trouble and figured that plenty of space might help dilute the effect.

With these two things settled he had invited Misato to a house-warming party in two days. She insisted on throwing him a going away party that night. He cooked, not wishing to trust her cooking, while she drank. After dinner she made a minor fool of herself for about fifteen minutes. This climaxed with a table dance that ended with her passing out, falling onto the couch and curling onto her side.

Shinji cleaned and then took up position with his art supplies across from her mostly naked form. He had been inspired by seeing her there to make his next masterpiece, for both public and private.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Misato had no idea how she had gotten into her bed. She was sure the throbbing of her head was from the exorbitant amount of beer she had decided to imbibe the night before. She had even dipped into her supply of the good stuff.

When she concentrated, which she avoided due to pain, she could recall loud neo-pop and the room undulating around her. Or was it her undulating on the table, with nothing on but her underwear?

Misato buried her face in her hands and the little girl in her willed it to be 'not so'. After thirty seconds she got up and slipped her shorts and tee shirt on. A hot long soak would help wash away the shame, or so she hoped. She stepped out of her room and came face to face with Shinji.

He had that same knowing smile on his face and a glass of water in his hand. He dropped two capsules into the liquid that dissolved instantly,"For the hangover. You look like the walking dead."

She took the glass and grunted indignantly before tossing the whole contents back. The drink burned slightly on the way down. She recognized the taste as one of the several anti-hangover drugs she kept in her medicine cabinet.

Her eyes stopped stinging and her throat became wet enough to speak,"Thanks. I'm going to get a bath."

"Sure thing. Breakfast should be ready when you get out." Shinji said while taking the glass and walking away.

Man she hated that smile.

ooo000OOO000ooo

"Hey Rei." Shinji said as he walked into her room. "How's it going?"

"Pilot... Shinji. I am well." She was sitting up in bed and appeared to be in considerably less pain. He noted the auto medication dispenser now hooked up to her IV.

"Looks like they got you something for pain, finally."

"Yes. Thank you."

"Why thank me?"

"Doctor Akagi said that the commander approved the new medication after seeing what you had done for me yesterday."

"So the old bastard does watch what goes on in here. I was wondering if that camera was just for show. The jack ass should have given you that stuff as soon as we reached an arrangement that took you out of the line of fire for the immediate future."

"Why do you speak so harshly about your father?" She asked with a strange expression on her face.

Shinji took a deep breath and unclenched his fists. He was relieved to hear the slightest emotional inflection in her voice. "I know I promised to give him a chance, but This is ten years of suppressed resentment."

He paused and sat down on the foot of her bed,"He abandoned me ten years ago, leaving me at a train station to wait for my aunt and uncle. I was four, had just lost my mother, and was in need of someone to comfort me. Instead I got dumped with a middle aged couple who had lost their own son a few years before. For ten years we just lived under the same roof, then something clicked inside us and we became close. That was a few months ago."

Rei found herself feeling an emotion others might have called sympathy but she had no experience feeling. She suppressed the feeling as the commander had taught her,"And then you were called here?"

Shinji nodded,"Yeah, the... my 'Father' had a use for me again. So just as I was starting to get into a comfortable position within my home he decides he needs me."

"If you hate him so much, why did you come?"

"Curiosity. I had to have several questions answered. But I'm just glad I found another reason to stick around besides waiting for him to respond."

She waited a moment for him to continue before asking,"What was that?"

He pointed at her,"You. I couldn't let him get you killed when I could do something about it." He cocked his head,"It's odd really. I never thought of myself as the hero type."

She reddened slightly,"I am expendable. You should not have risked yourself for me."

Shinji clinched his fists at her words. When she finished he got up and leaned close to her, whispering in her ear,"You are not expendable. No matter what he has told you, you are a unique person that can not be replaced or duplicated. Remember that I will always be here to protect you." He kissed her on the cheek and straightened. She was looking at him with confusion written across her face.

Shinji headed for the door, pausing just before pressing the control,"I'm having a house warming party tomorrow night. Would you like to come."

"They will not let me out of the hospital yet."

"Just answer the question, I'll handle the rest."

She looked away for a moment before saying,"Yes." just barely loud enough to be heard.

He left.

ooo000OOO000ooo

"Okay Shinji, that's enough for today" Doctor Akagi's voice came over the intercom.

"Okay." He responded.'Bye mom. Later Eva.' He thought over the link.

The connections were cut and he was once again alone with his thoughts. He had not absorbed one tenth of the information he had on his previous visit to this chair. This time he had met the persona of the Eva. It was the luminous form of a woman styled after his mother. She had roared at them for summoning her forth but Shinji had managed to get her quieted down. She still kept her distance while he praised her for her performance during the battle and explained that he was doing some training sims and not to get too excited.

The sim had gone better than he could have hoped as the command crew kept stepping up the difficulty. It finally went pear shaped on the fiftieth opponent he had faced. The Angel replica had blurred out of the line of fire and slammed sixteen energy spikes through his chest before he could respond. The huge amount of pain faded along with the lights.

Pain was a side-effect of the ninety-nine percent sync ratio. But so was speed and accuracy. He could pilot without using the controls, the Eva flowing with his thoughts.

He had also uploaded all of his favorite music into the data storage, letting it blare while he and the Eva hunted their prey. To his surprise he could feel the throbbing rage of his mecha pulsing in time with certain songs.

As the hatch opened he found both Misato and Ritsuko standing their smiling. Misato stepped forward,"That was impressive, especially after last night."

Shinji grinned as Doctor Akagi blushed,"I took it easy, unlike some people."

Misato blushed this time and Ritsuko's deepened. He had invited all of the command staff, including his father and Fuyutski. The two eldest had declined, the professor respectfully. The rest had decided to show, each bringing what they liked to drink and a snack. He had bought a karaoke machine and was finally persuaded to set it up by three drunken women.

He had to admit that the trio, Maya, Misato, and Ritsuko, were rather good, either in spite of or because of the the alcohol.

"Doctor" He said,"Thanks for letting Rei come last night. I think that she had a good time."

Ritsuko nodded,"It was nothing. She is recovering far better since we got her on some pain medications. Thank you for that. It's nice not to see the pain in her eyes every time I visit her."

"I'm just glad she can finally get on with healing without the constant threat of combat looming over her."

Misato set her hand on his shoulder, not sure if she liked the new plug suit color scheme he had chosen. He had kept the black primary color and changed the trim to crimson. It looked like he had been charred from the neck down and cut open in an intricate pattern. She felt that it was a bad omen,"You just need to remember that you're the one who now has to worry about that combat."

"No worries. With training like this I should be ready for anything. And this is not the only training I'm working on." He turned to the doctor,"On that note doc, do you have anything that might help me understand the book on metaphysics you gave me?"

"I might have something, but did you already read that book?"

"Yes and no. I have it stored but got caught on trying to understand the first chapter. I actually have all of them stored like that but can't really start organizing it until I know how to understand it."

Ritsuko was pinching the bridge of her nose, not having much choice but to believe it. She had seen how much activity his brain was capable of at any time through the several scans she had run. "I'll see what I can get for you, now why don't you go hit the showers."

He felt Misato smack his ass in passing as he walked away and he glanced over his shoulder to wink at her. She waited until he was out of sight before cursing herself,"Damn it, I don't even have the excuse of being drunk this time."

"What does 'that' mean?" Ritsuko asked.

Misato looked sheepish when she realized she had spoken. She scratched the back of her head,"We made a deal on the day that he got here. I don't tease him sexually and he doesn't make me regret it. I usually have to be pretty far gone before I slip."

Ritsuko smiled,"How bad can it be?"

"Make the same deal and find out. He is a sadist with the skills to make him truly dangerous. Some of the stuff he can do makes me certain he was not lying about the past few months."

"Like what?"

Misato told her best friend about the things Shinji had told her about his sex life.

When her friend finished Ritsuko blinked and said,"Isn't he afraid she could be arrested for what they did?"

"No. Or at least, not any more. He got his emancipation two days ago. I wonder how long he's been planning for this."

The blond doctor licked her lips and flushed slightly. The operations director could see the thoughts running through her friends mind. She knew what those thoughts were because she had had similar ones two nights ago.

Both the women had their train of thought violently derailed by a slim arm snacking it's way around each one's waist,"Shall we go ladies?" Shinji said in a cheerful voice. As their heads snapped around they could see the devious grin on his face. They looked at each other and shrugged. Then they started walking, wrapping an arm each around his waist.

ooo000OOO000ooo

The weekend passed in relative quietness for Shinji. He found a local art contest and filed an application for participation, listing his previous victory in his home town as experience. The entry requirements were three prior contests, but it couldn't hurt to try.

He also read the second set of books Doctor Akagi had given him. After getting all the information into his head he started making the connections between individual pieces of data. The concepts started falling into place as he continued to refine the painting of Misato in the nude.

On Sunday he helped Rei move back into her place. He was appalled at the state of her apartment, insisting on staying to clean up. He made small talk while he worked, getting her to open up a little at a time while working the conversation around to the possibility of her moving into a better place.

"Why should I move?" She asked

"Because this place is a dump. Someone in your condition should have a clean, well air conditioned, environment to recover in. Their's too much chance of you getting an infection in this place."

"The commander says this is all I need."

Shinji palmed his face,"Shit. Listen, I know you put great stock in what he says. But he is wrong on this point. Given the fact that I had to kick and scream to get you basic pain meds I doubt they are giving you any antibiotics. If you get an infection it may mean having to go through more surgery."

"That would mean even more time before I could resume my piloting responsibilities."

"At the least. You could die from something like that."He held up his hand to stop her,"I know you think you can be replaced. But it would make me upset if you had to endure even more pain unnecessarily."

"So I should move into a better place?"

"Yes. I can help you find a better place tomorrow afternoon, after school. Tonight you can stay at my place. Plenty of room."

"I would not wish to inconvenience you."

"Come on Rei. You saw the place I have. Since I'm the only one living their you won't even force me to sleep on the couch. Besides I like having company."

She thought for a moment,"That would be acceptable."

"Good, grab a bag and we'll take enough stuff for you for the next couple of days."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Monday started with Shinji making breakfast while Rei changed her bandages and got dressed. She knew that the excessive bandages were unnecessary but she had been ordered to pile it on. Due to her semi-human metabolism most of her wounds had already healed. The only things left to heal were a few pink patches on her skin that would fade in a day or two.

Breakfast was simple with ample portions for each. Rei ate only a quarter of what was placed in front of her until Shinji said,"You need to eat you know. Healing requires a good bit of energy and raw materials."

She ate another quarter and pushed back from the table,"Should we not be going."

Shinji wiped his mouth and said,"Just let me clean up real quick and we'll go."

Rei was about to start down the sidewalk when Shinji handed her a helmet. She was unsure why until he threw his leg over the black bike parked beside the building. She put the helmet on and took her position behind her fellow pilot. He switched on and gunned the throttle.

Rei frantically hugged him to hold on as they shot out of the driveway. Shinji's driving made Misato's look tamer, not enteirally calm, but closer to the norm. His style was half experience, from unpowered and low power bikes, and half balls, as he tried to see exactly what the crotch rocket, and himself, could do.

This was the first time in days that he had stopped thinking about AT field theory. He had to split his attention between driving and the slim body firmly pressed against his back. He also realized that she had shown genuine fear, resulting in the reflexive hug that would have cracked his ribs if he were any less muscled. His only regret was that he did not have any more attention to spare for memorizing the curves of the girls body.

Once Shinji noticed flashing lights behind them, only for the cop to turn around after a few seconds. He assumed that they had gotten the message after scanning his plate. This is, after all, a company town. NERV being the company. A star pilot would be given a wide birth. In response he smiled and gave it even more power.

After only another minute of this he began slowing, preparing for the last turn into the school yard. He came around the last corner and slammed the brakes, letting the bike slide to a halt. He felt that he had reproduced the movie scene almost perfectly, with only a slight bobble at the end. He walked the bike forward into a parking space and switched off.

"You can let go now." He said after removing his helmet.

Rei blinked and untangled her fingers, noticing the pain and slight redness. She took off her helmet and handed it to Shinji,"Thank you for the ride, Shinji."

"You're welcome Rei."

She paused after turning, steadying herself and then walked slowly toward the school. A middle-aged man passed her and walked up to Shinji as he secured the bike, locking the tires so they would never turn again without the right code.

"What the hell is a student doing driving to school? And especially driving like a maniac."

Shinji punched in one more code and removed the key. He held his ID out for the man to examine,"I'm Shinji Ikari, the new transfer student."

The teacher's eyes went wide as the special notes of the young man's card registered. With all the fire gone out of his argument he deflated,"Just try to be more careful in the future." He said, trying to find some minor fault he could still harp on.

Shinji nodded,"Yes, Sir. I'll try." He walked past the teacher and on into the school.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Schools are Schools. Shinji decided this axiom probably applied to the whole planet. The teacher had spent over an hour orating about the socio-political implications of Second Impact. Unlike other students he at least appeared to be attentive, even if he was still working on putting the pieces of the AT field puzzle together.

Most people found the theories and equations to be nothing more than metaphysical crap. Shinji found them to be such at first, until he had started small enough and built the rest on top of that. Now the concepts were falling into place to reveal staggering notions.

His attention was drawn to his laptop screen as a small icon began to blink. He hit the button to bring up the chat box. A question appeared,"Are you the pilot of that giant robot?"

He typed a few keys and started a trace before answering "Maybe."

It took a moment for the response to come, reading,"What does that mean? Are you or aren't you."

The trace indicated the computer it came from, but there was a tag indicating it went out to every student in the room. He grinned and typed,"It is not really a robot, but yes. I am the pilot that took it out last week."

Hitting the send he braced. All but four members of the class sprang to their feet calling,"Really?" "What was it like?" "How were you chosen?" "Do you have a girlfriend?"

All the questions hit him in staggered waves, over and over again. He kept a calm look on his face and noted those not in the inquisitorial mob. One was the class rep trying to get the mass of students back into their desks. Another was Rei, staring out the window with apparent disinterest.

Then their was the nerdy looking guy that Shinji had pegged as a possible vendor. He had spotted the kid under a tree before class, selling pictures to other students. And the last member of the class that had stayed in his chair was there as well. Now he looked like he was about to explode. He had a look that made Shinji class him as a jock.

The teacher had not noticed the commotion until the bell rang. Then he turned to find most of the class standing. He said weakly,"Oh. Class dismissed."

Shinji brought out his lunch as the students wandered out to go share their newest tidbit of information. Shinji made his way over to Rei and handed her a parcel as well,"Figured you might need a lunch."

"I do not eat lunch." She replied.

"Suit yourself." He answered before digging into his own.

She looked at him for five seconds before unwrapping her own and found to her surprise a completely vegetarian meal. She looked up and caught him watching her,"How did you know?"

He swallowed his food and took a drink,"I just payed attention to what you ate at the party. That, and this morning you only ate the fruit I put out."

He saw the jock coming toward his desk with nerd-boy in tow."Hey new kid." he shouted.

ooo000OOO000ooo

The jock had led Shinji outside while the nerd explained who they were and why Toji was so pissed. By the time they reached the spot where Toji planned to beat the shit out of this stupid ,clumsy pilot Shinji had decided to have some fun with this guy. Playing with his head would do him good.

"Okay, new kid. Do you have anything to say before I hit you?" The boy said, cracking his knuckles.

"Yes actually." Shinji said,"I would like to apologize for any harm that came to your sister because I had to go out and stop a giant alien from killing her, and you, and every damn person on this planet. I would have preferred to kill it before it entered the city, but the stuffed shirts in charge have all these little safely regulations that ensure I have a better chance of winning. They had to use a few extras since that was the first time I had ever seen an Evangelion."

Shinji could see understanding dawning on Kensuke's face while Toji was just getting angrier."Okay, you can try to beat me up now."

Toji required no further invitation, drawing his fist back.

At that moment the last few pieces of AT field theory fell into place and Shinji grinned. Toji seemed to pause at this, wondering what this guy was thinking. He knew that the kid was no wimp, but took another second to examine his target.

Then he dropped his fist, mistaking the amusement on Shinji's face for confidence. He suddenly realized that he didn't stand a chance, because his opponent was toying with him. He was short, and thin, but well built and poised to take Toji apart.

"I accept your apology, but that doesn't mean I forgive you. You should have been more careful." Shinji was becoming more distracted as he continued to review the data he had been puzzling over. He had to force himself to speak,"I will try to keep the city out of it in the future, but no promises. Good enough?"

"Yeah man. Come on Kensuke."

Just as the two boys walked into the building Shinji lost it, breaking into uncontrolled laughter. He doubled over and didn't even notice the small crowd gathering around the obvious lunatic. After a minute he fell to his knees and rolled onto his side, clutching his ribs.

A minute later he heard a voice in his ear,"Shinji, please stop. We are needed at headquarters."

His eyes snapped open and found Rei kneeling over him. He stopped laughing with some difficulty and rolled fluidly to his feet,"Okay, lets go."

He was still giggling as they walked toward the parking lot.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Okay, here's chapter six. Sorry it took so long, but I'm still trying to get my schedule rearranged to get more writing done. hope you enjoy it.

Thanks again to my wife for reviewing it.


	7. Chapter 7: The Applications of Knowledge

Hentai Shinji Chapter 7: The Applications of Knowledge

Shinji pulled the motorcycle into the parking garage and headed for the security checkpoint. Both he and Rei passed their cards through the readers and headed for the elevator.

On reaching the cage level Shinji headed for the locker rooms while Rei went to the observation deck to listen to the battle.

Shinji, despite Misato's objections, liked the color scheme of his plug suit. He felt that the way it highlighted his muscled form was the perfect way to tease Misato and Ritsuko. Even that Maya girl from operations had taken the opportunity to check him out in the suit.

With the suit sealed against him he headed for the cage where they had the Eva nearly prepped. To his surprise Maya and Ritsuko were waiting for him. As he walked up to them Ritsuko looked up from her clipboard."Ah, Shinji. I just wanted to let you know that we've installed the new higher efficiency power transfer relays in the Eva. So you should be able to recharge your batteries in a quarter of the time, if you can get to a power station."

"Understood,"Shinji said,"And thanks. What about the new projectors you told me about?"

"Those will take about another week, but we have to keep Unit-01 near combat status at all times so we can't do it all at once."

"That's cool, just wondering. Seems like they could be really helpful is all."

"We just had to get the new transfer circuits in or the projectors would burn out the power system." Shinji nodded and stepped between them to get to the Eva. He was pleased to feel a pair of hands brush his ass gently.

With the plug inserted he could feel the two minds reaching out to him.'Hello Eva, Mom. How's tricks.'

'Shinji, I am your mother. Show some respect.' The thought was tinged with sarcasm.

The feeling from the Eva was somewhat different. It still contained the rage, but it was no longer formless and undirected. But the biggest surprise was still to come,'The enemy is near, we will kill it.'

'Yes Eva, we will kill it, but I have something different in mind.'

He started directing his thoughts toward the MAGI, seeking a consultation on a probability question. With that done he signaled his ready status to the command center. The Eva was moved to an auxiliary launch port and rocketed toward the outskirts of the city, as the three massive super computers that ran all of Tokyo-3 churned numbers that quickly exceeded the single page of his display screen.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Kensuke and Toji heaved against the door to the surface. They had lied to the class rep and snuck out of the shelter. All because Kensuke just had to see the Eva in action. He had his video camera running, sure to catch everything, even if it killed him.

"There!" Kensuke shouted pointing toward a purple shape floating past the end of the valley they were in.

Toji started climbing,"Come on, looks like it's headed for the next valley."

The two teens reached the crest of the hill just in time for the squid looking beast to enter from the far end. A moment later a side of the mountain opened up and the Eva slid out. The music blaring from the speakers on the giant mecha could be heard for half a mile.

"How many of them can we make die?"

The song was in English so the boys had to translate in their heads.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji let the music die without queuing a new song. He could see the enemy floating over the the rice patties as it came steadily closer.

"Time to announce our presence." He said as he activated his AT field.

The purple form stopped it's advance and seemed to consider it's new foe. Shinji waited, hoping the MAGI would finish their calculations soon, or he would have to fall back on plan B. While not adverse to physical combat, he would prefer to keep his distance. He just had to hope that he got the figures in time.

ooo000OOO000ooo

"What's he waiting for?" Toji asked.

"Have you ever seen two very skilled fighters? They can size each other up just by seeing what kind of stance the other takes." Kensuke said sagely.

"Looks like he's just standing there."

They covered their ears as a massive pressure wave moved down the valley from the far end. The Angel rose up on it's tail and energized two long whips that looked to be about as thick as the Eva's power cord.

"Looks like it's about to get interesting." Toji said.

ooo000OOO000ooo

'Okay, there's the probability. Choose the song Eva.' Shinji thought as the numbers flowed in from the MAGI.

Shinji shifted the configuration of his AT field, spreading it out to encompass the Angel. The light spectrum of the valley changed, shifting into the red.

"I have made life and experience from the imaginations of youth"  
Shinji started feeding the numbers into his AT field.

"I have slept a million nights below the darkness of silence"  
Misato called over the comm,"Shinji, what are you doing? Your AT field won't provide any protection if you spread it out like that."

"I am the incarnation of your delusions, Or your insights..."  
Maya's voice came over the link,"Captain Katsuragi, the Eva is drawing power at a huge rate."

"I am the voice of warning"  
Shinji assumed a bracing stance with his hands cupped into a ball before him.

"I am the thread which ties life to reality"  
"Shinji, I am ordering you to retract your field and prepare for hand to hand."

"I am your guardian"  
"Misato, I think I know what he is doing. Let him try." Ritsuko's voice sounded from the background.

"I am the wishfire..."

A small ball of light that shown like a star came into existence between the Eva's hands. It instantly flew toward the Angel, burning through it's AT field as if it did not exist. The fusing hydrogen slammed into the Angel's core. It quickly vaporized everything in it's path before bursting out the other side and winking out of existence as it left the AT field that allowed it to exist in the first place.

The lifeless form of the Angel toppled forward, driving the water of the valley floor before it. The shock of the impact set off earthquake sensors on the other side of the city.

Shinji was not paying attention to his slain foe, his attention drawn to the sound of screaming coming from the mountain on his right.

He zoomed in on the form of two boys from his class who were writhing on the ground, clutching at their eyes."Misato, I think we might have a problem."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji strode up to the two boys who were sitting in a security zone. They had been checked out by the medics and given a clean bill of health. Their sight was already starting to return, allowing them to make out the form of the boy they had been about to beat up a few hours before.

"I hear that you two are in deep shit guys." He said.

"We didn't know..." Kensuke trailed off.

"That you would get caught, or that you would damn near go blind." He knelt down next to the boys,"Now I'll see if I can pull some strings to get you guys off, but no promises."

He walked away, approaching the point where Misato was waiting.

"So, are they ready to go home yet?" She asked.

An evil smile spread across his face,"Do me a favor. Put them in a cell for eight hours, then I'll go down and let them out. K?"

Misato looked shocked,"But the camera was destroyed, they can go."

"I think they need some time to think about this mistake. Besides it will make it easier on me later."

She shook her head and smiled back,"You are truly evil when you want to be, you know that."

"I thought that was what you found so attractive about me. My playful nature."

She motioned an agent over, gave a few instructions, and watched as the group of agents descended on the two frightened youths.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Eight hours later in the cells beneath NERV headquarters Kensuke and Toji sat in silence. Toji was pissed, not only had his best friend caused him to nearly loose his sight, there was a good chance they were about to be executed for his friends curiosity.

"You know this is all your fault." Toji said into the silence.

"I know."Kensuke said."I'm sorry. But it was just something I had to see."

"I can't believe you some times. We could die and you are still getting off on seeing that thing."

"I know, but Shinji's trying to help us. I don't know why, after you were so mean to him."

"I think I misjudged him." Toji was not the type to admit when he was wrong."He is a good guy. He really is sorry about what happened. And I think he really does want to help us. But if he couldn't get us out by now..." He trailed off.

After another few minutes they heard foot steps coming toward the cell. The door opened to let in a shaft of light that hurt their eyes until a shape moved into view.

"You know what?"Shinji said to them."You guys look like hell."

The two teens had that deer in the headlights look, neither one really sure how to take it.

"Come on, I managed to get them to let you go." The two agents behind him grinned at the lie told by the star pilot.

ooo000OOO000ooo

"So you see, I really need you to handle the distribution end for me." Shinji and Kensuke had been setting up the arrangements for hours. Toji had just sat and thought about how good it was to be home.

"Yeah man, that should be easy with high quality stuff like this. But what would be really nice is some photos of Misato, or even Rei." Kensuke could see the money roll in if he could just get hold of the good stuff.

"I'll see what I can do." Shinji said.

ooo000OOO000ooo

"What are we going to do with him now?" Misato asked her friend as they sat in the lounge.

"What do you mean?" Ritsuko raised an eyebrow.

"He is going to be unbearable now that he has that new... whatever attack that is."

"Oh. You mean that solar cannon he used?"

"Yeah, that thing."

"I wouldn't worry too much. He told me in the post mission physical that he probably won't be able to use that ever again."

"Huh, why not? All it did was drain one capacitor. He should be able to pull it off a dozen times in a row."

"It has to do with probability. In one mode the AT field can alter probability within a given area. But the power requirements are proportional to the probability of something happening."

"Okay, so what's the problem?"

"The base probability of doing something improbable twice is the square of it happening once."

"So the power requirements go up exponentially as well."

"You got it. So he can't pull that little trick again. Even if we could provide that much power without vaporizing the Eva, the MAGI are still working on the exact probability needed to do it."

"Okay, so he has to think up something new for the next one."

"Yep, but I don't think that will be much of a problem. He has a devious imagination."

"That he does." Misato looked thoughtful for a while."I need to talk to you about something, personal."

"What is it? You're not the kind to be coy about something."

"I've been having... thoughts about him. He's starting to become all I think about."

"So? What's the problem?"

"What's the problem? He's just a kid."

"Like hell. He is a pilot on the front lines of the most important war this species may ever fight. And from what you told me, it's not like you would be his first."

"How can you be so casual about this?"

"You think you're the only one thinking about him 'that way'. He's brilliant, funny, and has a really nice ass. Even little miss prude Maya has noticed him. If you don't hurry, one of us will end up grabbing him."

"But what about his father? The guy is our boss."

"And? He apparently doesn't care that his son runs a hentai site. And just to let you know, he updated two days ago." Ritsuko slid a printout over to her.

Misato picked up the sheet and looked at it.

Ritsuko had to admit that that particular shade of white was definitely not too healthy for a human being. "Are you okay?"

"I'm dead."

"Not if he hasn't killed you yet. It's been up for two days, so you will probably be fine. My only question is, when did you pose nude for him?"

"It wasn't really posing. I threw him a going away party. Apparently I got too drunk and started stripping, then passed out."

"You might want to cut back on drinking if it's that easy."

"Tell me about it."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Gendo Ikari was a complicated man. While he had abandoned his son at age four, he had never really lost track of him. He had assigned an entire detachment of agents to keep an eye on the kid. He just didn't feel that he could be a good father after his wife died.

He currently felt that he may have made a mistake. His son stirred something he wasn't even aware he had. Gendo's paternal instincts were starting to come back on line after a long period of disuse, and he was immensely proud of his son. His view of the world was greatly tinted by his experiences, so what most might find disturbing, Gendo Ikari found mildly amusing.

How could a man who intended to destroy the whole world to get his wife back begrudge his son for exploring the romantic side of life. The fact that Shinji had no less than three women and two girls chasing him just made his father that much more proud.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Here's chapter seven. It's a little short, but so was the battle.

Thanks to my wife for reviewing this for me.


	8. Chapter 8: Agape

Hentai Shinji Chapter 8: Agape

Shinji rode his bike in his usual fashion as he headed back to his house. He once again dedicated as much attention as he could to memorizing the gentle curves of the red eyed girl clutching to him. Apparently word had gotten around about a crazy kid on a bike as the NERV pilot passed several of the city's finest without so much as a flash.

He pulled into his driveway and came to a smooth stop right next to another motorcycle. Taking the helmet from Rei and removing his own he smiled amicably at the girl,"I'm sorry Rei. We didn't get a chance to look for a new place for you to live."

"That's alright, Shinji. Um..." She hung her head slightly. The hormones of a teenage girl warred with the conditioning that she had been subjected to for her entire life.

"What is it Rei?" Shinji asked, letting no sign of his thoughts reach his face.

"Is it okay if I stay here instead. It would make it much easier for us both to get to headquarters if we are called." Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink as she asked to live with him.

'Thought so!' he reflected, seeing through the thinly veiled excuse. "Sure, but you need to ask my other roommate."

Her head snapped up at his reply,"You live with someone else?"

"Yeah. She just moved in today. But I don't see any problem, you already know her." He motioned for her to proceed him while opening the door.

She stepped through into the foyer and froze as she saw a familiar person in very unfamiliar clothes. "Lieutenant Ibuki, what a surprise." Rei bowed and spoke to the floor.

The junior officer was wearing a rather tight tank top and shorts. The fabric was mostly translucent and the exact color of Maya's skin. The effect was even better than if she had been completely naked as this teased any male looking at it, making them wonder if she was actually wearing anything at all.

Shinji stepped past Rei and patted Maya's ass while he walked into the living room,"Did you find the new stuff I told you about?"

Maya grabbed Rei's hand and turned to follow him,"Yeah! I loved the part with Ritsuko and Misato." She giggled softly. "I think the doctor is going to have a heart attack when she sees it." Her giggles evolved into sinister chuckles. "And Misato is still embarrassed about the 'Guardian Angel' piece." She dissolved into laughter over the mental image of her superiors blushing consecutively darker shades of red every time they looked at Shinji.

The boy in question waited for Maya to compose herself enough to sit up straight. He then stood and stretch, being sure to crack his back in a few places. He then ran his fingers through his hair and frowned, "I can never seem to get this crap out of my hair." He turned to the girls and smirked,"I'm gonna go get a bath." He winked at them before walking out.

Maya smiled deviously as she glanced at Rei,"Should we join him?"

"Why?" The girl with red eyes asked."Does Shinji require assistance?"

"He might. We at least need to make sure he doesn't slip and get hurt."

"Shinji is quite dexterous. I doubt he will slip."

Maya sighed,"Rei. Do I have to spell it out for you? He's got a great body and a glorious imagination. Aannd he all but invited us."

"I do not recall him asking us to participate." Rei observed.

Maya grabbed the girls hand and started for the bathroom."Just come on. You'll enjoy this."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji was lowering himself into the tub when he heard the outer door slide open. The grin that played itself across his face was colored with every lecherous thought his perverted imagination could cram into it. He would never have imagined the sweet, quiet, little bridge bunny as being one of his competitors. But he had run into her, literally, on his way out of the hanger, and there it was. Some of the best hentai he had ever seen lying right beside his own in a pile on the floor.

One thing led to another and now here she was, about to share a bath with him. Of all the fun he had ever had with his two previous partners, a bath was not among it. He had only had enough room for a shower, sans heater, in his little hidey whole. He and Misaki had once decided to try it, and while the effect on her nipples was amazing the effect on him was rather disheartening.

Rei was another matter enteirally. She was so distant and cold. Shinji wondered exactly what his father, the unmitigated bastard, could have done to her that would leave such an unsociable automaton where a young, and rather cute, girls should be. He had sworn to melt through the layers of ice closing off her heart and get to the hormonal teenager that was restrained within. The possibility of pissing his dear old dad off was just a bonus.

He heard water splash from the antechamber and was decidedly facing the other way as Maya's squeals died down.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Maya slid the door open a fraction to peek in and see how Shinji wanted to play this. Spotting his back to her with his headphones firmly planted in his ears confirmed that she was expected to surprise him. She turned to Rei,"Okay. What were gonna do is sneak up on him." She whispered."Then when I count to three, we cover his eyes and say 'Guess who?' in our most seductive voices. Got it?"

"Why do we have to sneak up on Shinji if he is expecting us?" Rei asked as her cheeks turned a bright red.

"It's a game. He pretends to be surprised and we play along. It helps to set the mood."

"What mood?"

Maya finally realized that the girl in front of her had no idea what was about to happen."Rei. I know that they cover sex ed in school these days."

Rei nodded with her eyes wide,"We've covered it twice."

"Weeell. He's a boy. We're girls. And all of us are naked."

Rei's eyes went even wider as the final pieces fell into place and she finally understood what the yearning feeling in her middle meant. The images that came rushing into her mind shocked, and exhilarated her. Her voice was husky as she answered,"I understand."

ooo000OOO000ooo

The door slid open and two girls crawled the short distance to the tub. Despite the room being large, most of it was taken up by the dozen person tub in the center, leaving only three feet between the edge and the door.

As the girls reached the edge Maya held up her hand and started counting. On three they both reached around and laced their fingers before his eyes while saying in unison,"Guess Who?"

Shinji almost had trouble believing the girl whispering in his left ear was Rei. She had a lack of experience with speaking seductively, but made up for it by putting every bit of her expectant passion into the two words. A jolt went down his back from the obvious level of expectation communicated to him by these two women.

He grinned,"The Carnal Knowledge twins?" He purred.

Maya giggled at the joke,"Close enough!" She reached around him and started tonguing Shinji with total abandon. Rei slipped quietly into the water and watched, fascinated beyond even her own belief. Shinji ran his hands over Maya's skin slowly, caressing her back in just the right spots to elicit a deep moan from her.

A minute later they separated, Maya lowering herself into the water and resting on the bench that ran the perimeter."Your turn." She moaned as she looked at Rei.

Shinji fixed the shy girl with his eyes and gestured for her to approach. Maintaining eye contact her body moved on it's own, crawling toward the object of her desire. She flowed up against him and snaked her arms around his neck. Rei turned her face to his and waited. He leaned down, embracing her with all the passion he could see in her eyes. For two minutes they poured raw emotion through the kiss, with Shinji increasing her arousal with gentle caresses.

By the time the two pilots separated Maya had overcome her own pleasure enough to move toward them. Shinji lifted Rei, setting the slim girl on her knees to his left. Maya came around to his front and knelt between his legs.

They both went to work, Maya on Shinji, Shinji on Rei. As the lieutenant pleasured him the male pilot moaned with Rei's nipple in his mouth, causing the inexperienced girl to gasp and grab hold of his head. She relaxed after a moment and ran her fingers through his short hair. His hand came up and cupped her left breast, causing her to tense again as he gently twisted the erect flesh.

After a few minutes Maya released him and he motioned for her to lay across the bench. Then he lifted Rei and sat her astride the other girl. This time he worked on both of them, using both oral and manual stimulation that caused both of them to scream. As one would come close to orgasm he would switch, giving them a few seconds to cool down before he started over again.

Maya began fondling Rei soon after the first switch and the young girl quickly reciprocated. Using his best techniques Shinji continued for ten minutes, alternating the method of stimulation and waiting for the perfect moment. Finally he sensed it coming and bore down on both girls, bringing then to climax simultaneously. They gave off a loud and prolonged scream as pleasure suffused every fiber of their bodies and then collapsed, breathless.

As the haze in Maya's vision cleared and she could move her legs again, she motioned for Shinji to lay down. He shrugged and gestured to a small wooden table a foot from her head. She looked over and was filled with both regret and a thankful warmth.

Retrieving one of the contraceptives from the stack she looked at Rei,"Do you wanna go first?"

The shy girl blushed and lowered her head. "Please." She whispered longingly from behind her bangs. Maya smiled, secretly wanting more of that magic tongue before the main event, and led the other girl over to their lover. She applied the condom to Shinji and then beckoned Rei to straddle his waist while doing the same to his head.

Rei lowered herself onto him gently until there was a painful resistance. When she winced and began to pull away Maya cupped her face with her hands,"It's gonna hurt for a second. But I promise, it's worth it. You don't have to though, if you don't want to."

Shinji had managed to disentangle himself from the bridge bunny's legs and reached up to brush his fingers through Rei's hair,"It's okay Rei. I promise I won't love you any less if you want to stop."

Her words were only a whisper,"Please don't stop. I don't know why, but I want you to do this. I've never felt anything like this. The first moment I saw you, with half your face covered in my blood, I knew that I would always be with you." Rei wrapped her arms around his face and begged,"Please take me Shinji!"

She buried her tongue into his mouth as he thrust into her as hard as he could. Her muffled scream soon subsided as her hips ground against him, replacing pain with ecstasy. Soon she released him and he lay back, thrusting into the girl as Maya resumed her previous position.

Both girls lost themselves in the endless pleasure reverberating through their bodies. Eventually Rei gave one final scream of pleasure and collapsed against him. The threesome separated to rearrange with Maya laying on the bench a short distance from Rei with Shinji between her legs. She wrapped her legs around him, drawing him deep inside her and moaned into his mouth.

As she caught her breath Rei examined the experience and made a solemn pledge.'No matter what, she would not allow anything to happen to this man that had finally shown her what it was to be human.' Being more experienced that Rei, Maya was able to hold out longer, especially with Shinji already stimulated. She held her pleasure at the perfect level until his thrusts became more forceful and deliberate. Then she released all control and allowed them to orgasm simultaneously.

Following the experience they lounged in the generously sized tub. The girls gently bathed him and then they took turns, Maya going first this time, letting him return the favor. The happy threesome chatted lightly about different subjects, letting the conversation drift organically.

Finally they withdrew from the bath and spent a lavish amount of time drying every curve of each others bodies. They walked to his bedroom wrapped one girl on either side and collapsed onto the bed. Shinji triggered some relaxing music then slipped out his robe as well and under the covers, the girls were ready for an encore. He shook his head and mumbled,"A hero's work is never done."

They all giggled for a second before the phone rang.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Half a mile away Misato Katsuragi was standing in front of her apartment building. The light of the fire currently consuming it illuminated the entire area, including a warm-water penguin wiping soot off his flippers.

Then her cell connected,"Shinji?"

"Yeah. I've got a little problem."

"I just got in from headquarters, and my apartment building is on fire."

"I don't know. The fire department is here, but the chief is saying that with the fire as far along as it is, the whole building is a write off."

"Yeah, Pen-Pen is okay. He managed to get out. He's just a little singed."

"Anyway. I was wondering if I could spend the night at your place."

Her face turned red,"Nothing like that! I just need somewhere to stay until I can find a new place. I would call Ritsuko, but she lives pretty far out. And she was working even later than I was."

"Really, thanks. I owe you one. We'll be there in five minutes."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Misato pulled into the driveway at Shinji's place and was surprised to see two motorcycles parked there instead of one. "Guess he has a friend over." She muttered."Hope I'm not interrupting anything."

She pulled the old fashioned rope bell and waited for an answer. Less than a minute later Shinji answered it wearing a loose fitting robe,"Hey Misato, Pen-Pen. Come on in." He waved them through the door and then walked toward the living room.

"I'm really sorry to call you so late." She apologized.

"It's fine Misato, we had just finished having a 'very' relaxing bath and had barely moved to the bed." He put extra in emphases to indicate the nature of the experience.

She thought,'Shit. I did interrupt. This kid moves fast....'

Her thoughts came to a screeching halt when they turned the last corner and she saw who Shinji's friends were.

The teenage pilot sat in the center of a love seat that was barely wide enough for it's current occupants to sit comfortably. With a little creative rearranging they managed to make it work. Maya was now sitting on Shinji's lap and Rei was snuggled up to his right side.

"Hello Misato." The two girls sang at her with innocence dripping from their tones. They were dressed in tight fitting, silk, bath robes that came down in the front to show ample cleavage and stopped just below the curve of their round bottoms.

"M..Maya, Rei. What are you two doing here?" Misato was having problems processing what she was seeing. The concept of shy little Maya and the eternal introvert Rei cuddling the object of her own fantasies just didn't want to register with her.

The two girls sighed contentedly and Shinji chuckled."Isn't it obvious Misato? Maya and I have decided to team up to corner the market. We think we should be able to turn out product of an even higher quality three times faster than we can individually."

"As for Rei." He squeezed the young girl's waist,"I was planning to help her find a new place yesterday. Things got a little sidetracked and this evening she asked if she could live here with me for a while."

"I...see." The tactical devision head was still having trouble getting her brain to move in the right direction."So you are all living here together."

"Yes." They purred in unison.

"And which rooms are you two girls using?"

"We're sharing a room. It's the first one on the left from the top of the stairs." Rei said, deliberately leaving out the fact that it was Shinji's room.

"I think the one across from us is empty." Maya put in helpfully. "If you want to use it."

"The bath is just behind the stairs." Shinji said."Why don't you and Pen-Pen go soak for a while. It's been a hard day for you two."

"That's a good idea. Thanks Shinji."

"Not a problem." He patted Maya on the rump,"Why don't you go with her, dear. Just in case she needs some help"

"Sure thing." She leaned down to kiss him quickly, but deeply, before bouncing over to the older woman and dragging her away.

As she was drawn away Misato wondered what she had walked into.

ooo000OOO000ooo

When Misato came back into the living room with Maya they found Rei and Shinji curled on the love seat watching TV with the lights off. The show was some pre-second impact sci-fi flick about nasty aliens devouring a group of over confident marines. The normal effect would have been the girl jumping and clutching onto the boy whenever something scary happened. Instead Rei had fallen asleep listening to Shinji's heartbeat while the young boy ran his fingers through her short hair.

Maya pulled a pillow off one of the other sofas and sat on the floor, leaning against Shinji. He obliged her with by gently nibbling on her neck. Misato found the whole scene was getting her aroused, wondering if there was room for her in the group.

Just as she was about to ask a phone rang. Shinji answered it and listened calmly.

"Yes Doctor."

"Not yet, but she just got out of the bath."

"You're more than welcome to join us."

"Five minutes then."

He hung up and turned to peer at the tactical officer,"Any idea why Ritsuko would suspect you of trying to 'make a move', as she put it, on me?"

Misato started blushing,"Why that. I may have said something to her about... But I told her... And besides, my apartment burned down."

"She apparently thinks you will try to take advantage of the situation." Shinji grinned.

"I wouldn't. You're just a kid. And besides, I couldn't find a spot."

"Oh nonsense, Misato." Maya said."You can bring over another pillow and sit next to me."

The officer's cheeks reddened even further from the invitation,"I can't. His father is our boss."

"Who apparently doesn't mind." Maya countered huskily as Shinji went back to work on her neck."You know how extensive their surveillance is. If he really cared whether or not we did this, Section 2 would have already dragged us out of here." She laughed,"There's probably some agent rewatching the bath scenes right now, even yours."

Misato was saved the embarrassment of another halfhearted objection by Doctor Ritsuko Akagi bursting in through the door and throwing her arms around her bothered friend."Oh, Misato. I'm so glad you're safe."

Misato whispered in a deadly tone."How could you tell him how I felt?"

Ritsuko pulled away slightly, a hurt expression on her face,"I would never tell him that, you're my best friend, Misato."

"But he said you didn't think I could be trusted here with him."

"I asked if you had gone to bed yet and if you were okay. I just heard about your building burning and figured you would beg a bed from him because he had plenty of space."

"But he said..." Misato trailed off as Shinji lost control and started laughing.

Akagi smiled at her friend,"Looks like you just got played by the son of the most cold-hearted manipulator in the world."She started laughing at the indigent stare her friend was sending at her."You should feel honored. Not many people get such personal attention."

"I don't feel honored." Misato hissed as she dragged her friend past the living room.

Shinji gave a nonchalant,"Later, Ritsuko." as they departed, before inspecting Maya's tonsils.

When she finally reached her room, which she was happy to see locked from the inside, the flustered tactical specialist flopped on the bed."I feel like such an idiot. I just told the most important guy on the planet right now that I want to jump him."

"Actually I think it's the other way around." Ritsuko continued at her friend's confused expression,"The best chance humanity has to survive this war, namely that sexy hunk of flesh down there with two girls already, just told you that you want to jump him."

"How does he know so much? And how is it he can get to me so bad? He's just a kid!"

"Look at who his parents are." Ritsuko retorted. "You know what a genius his father is. But his mother is even more so. She managed to reverse engineer an angel, design a weapon using that knowledge, refine that design into a usable prototype and test type model, and did all this before her son was five."

Misato gawked at her friend,"I never knew his mother was involved with the Evangelion."

"Her and two others. But she was the driving force behind the project. When she disappeared the others tried to carry on, but it was slower without her to make the intuitive leaps that were needed." Ritsuko lowered her head,"Maybe if she had made it my mother would still be around."

"What does Shinji's mom have to do with yours?"

"Yui Ikari, Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu, and Naoko Akagi. They all worked for Gehirn while they developed the technologies that have become necessary for our survival. Yui Ikari was head of Project E and worked with Soryu to develop Units 00 and 01. My mother was developing the MAGI around the same time and they all became close friends."

She paused, remembering the pain in her mothers voice on that day, when her mother had called, crying." It wasn't until I joined that I found out what really happened. Yui was running a test activation on Unit 01. Everything was going fine until they passed the threshold. Then her sync ratio started to rise exponentially, when it hit four-hundred percent her body dissolved into the LCL. My mother attempted a recovery, but something went wrong and she was lost. All we know is that her mind and soul merged with Unit 01."

"After she finished her work on the MAGI, my mother joined Project E. Certain safety protocols had been enacted to prevent a similar occurrence, but once again it happened. They recovered her body this time, but her mind and soul merged with Unit 00. Soryu continued to work on the problem, eventually developing Unit 02. But it seems that everyone who worked on the early Project E was cursed. Her soul was absorbed, leaving only a shattered consciousness behind. She took her own life shortly after."

Akagi was silent for a long time, just trying to get her emotions back in check. Misato finally broke the silence."So that's why they developed the A-10 clips, to act as a buffer and keep any of the children from suffering the same fate."

"Yeah, it took loosing four of the finest minds of our time to realize we needed that little piece of technology."

"Four?"

"From what my mother said, Gendo Ikari was a brilliant coordinator. He would do whatever it took to make a world in which his wife and child would be happy and safe."

"After his wife disappeared something died in him. Maybe he blamed himself for not being able to get her back, but he stopped showing any emotion. He became focused on the idea of getting her back, even to the exclusion of his son. Shinji was sent to live with Yui's sister and her husband."

"The strangest part is that I've started to see some of what my mother used to talk about. That spark in Gendo's eyes, when he looks at Shinji. I think that boy in there may save more than just the planet, he may save his fathers soul."

ooo000OOO000ooo

The next few days were relatively uneventful for the NERV personnel. Shinji continued to train in the simulators, crashing the program a few times because he tried to do something that defied physics. The main problem was that the MAGI ran the program and had seen him do some impossible things, so they tried to adapt the program on the fly to allow the move. This ended up with Shinji sidestepping the world while it was updating and emerging somewhere in the raw data flow.

Rei was still waiting for the newest round of repairs on Unit 00 to be complete, leaving her to watch Shinji's practice sessions. She marveled at how much the boy intuitively knew about the AT field and how it should be used.

Maya and Misato were trying to keep up with the data collected from the constant simulations, barely coping with the ever increasing abilities of Unit 01 within the program. It seemed that if Shinji could justify the new ability then the MAGI were more than happy to allow it. So far he had used the AT field as a cutting blade, stepping stone, and pile driver. The last one had leveled several city blocks as well as liquefying the enemy.

Maya was finding it hard not to complement her lover about his ingenuity in using the mysterious force emanated by the combat mecha.

Misato started off trying to scold Shinji for his unorthodox tactics, but had quickly abandoned that route. Now she was encouraging his thinking. 'Maybe the kid might find a way to win the war in all this practice.' She thought.

Everyone was surprised by the words of the commander after one such session.

ooo000OOO000ooo

They had been alternating between the third and fourth angels as opponents, trying to see how effective each tactic was against both types. This time it was Shamshel that had just fallen, it's core plucked from it's chest by a tubular AT field cutter.

The lights in the simulator went down and then came back up to display the message,"Program maintenance in progress"

Misato was about to congratulate Shinji on another spectacular victory when Gendo Ikari spoke,"That was most impressive Shinji. Eloquent and efficient, quite surgical."

"Thank you, Commander." Shinji replied,"I'm so happy to be entertaining, sir." The sarcasm dripping from his words was enough to make all but two members of the bridge staff gasp.

To their memory, no one had ever spoken to Gendo Ikari like that. Misato and Maya on the other hand just shrugged it off and continued preparing for the next exercise. Shinji had a few issues with his old man, and this was just a side effect.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Ritsuko on the other hand was busy cataloging and collating all the data from the last battle as well as the samples from the Angel.

This being the first remains they had to study, she was excited, but rather unimpressed. All the data matched up well enough with the samples from Adam to be routine. The one thing they really wanted to study had unfortunately been vaporized by the solar attack.

What remained was clean up and sample collecting.

As the week came to a close Ritsuko and Misato once again found themselves in the lounge at the same time. They were looking out over the Geofront as they sipped their drinks.

"So, how's the house hunting going?" Ritsuko asked.

Misato took another sip of her drink before answering. "Honestly. I'm not really looking." At the questioning look from her friend she continued. "The pace around here has kept me pretty busy. What with the training and the paperwork, I can barely find time on the way home to actually look at any of the places suggested by the MAGI. And...."

"And?" Akagi prompted.

"Part of me doesn't want to move. I like living with people again. It kind of reminds me of being in college, especially with you stopping by every night to make sure I'm not doing anything inappropriate."

Both women laughed at the joke started by Shinji. When she stopped chuckling at her friend Ritsuko said. "You still don't want to admit that you are falling for him, do you?"

Katsuragi sighed heavily and sipped her drink."If I were to be completely honest, I've already fallen for him. Ever since the first day he was here, when he put his hands on me." A shiver ran down her spine and warmth spread through her middle."No one has made me feel that way since Kaji. I'm just not sure I can share him."

"Why don't you try it. I'm not sure you can do it either, but you won't know unless you give it a chance."

"And what if I can't? I do know that I love him, and that could complicate things."

The blond scientist looked on in shock."Did you say that you love him?"

"Yeah!" Misato snorted. "I've had long enough to examine my feelings, and that kid." She paused. "That man, makes me want more than physical acts of carnal pleasure. I want him to hold me after he has been our slaughtering our enemies, when his passions flare. I want to hold him when he's had a rough day and he can't even bring himself to feel anything. I want us to protect each other from the duel natures of our world. But having to share him, that is what bothers me."

"I know it's not the thought of being intimate with a woman that's bothering you. You seemed to enjoy it when that jerk left you and you needed comfort."

"Yeah, I know it's not that. I just wonder if there will be enough to go around."

"A wise man once said, god I'm sounding like the jerk now. But anyway, A wise man once said that 'Love can not be divided, only multiplied.' You need to have faith that his heart is big enough to share with as many women as he decides to invite in. Look at the effect he's had on Rei."

"I know. She always seemed distant, detached from everyone. Now, all of the sudden, she's all over him."

"Not quite that suddenly. Her brain waves have been elevated ever since he arrived. And her hormones have kicked in with a vengeance. I'd say that she has been thinking about this for a long time. She just needed an opportunity and the right prodding." Akagi took a drink and then fixed her friend with her gaze. "What kind of prodding are you going to need to get you over this and into his arms?"

"I'm just worried that I can't be objective about this relationship. That I'll become jealous of the other girls. How can you love someone without being jealous of him giving his affections to others?" Misato turned away and took a long pull on her drink.

"When I was a younger, about ten, before Second Impact, my grandfather told me something that has helped me. He said that jealousy and love are not complementary emotions. The immature mind often thinks so though. They believe that the greater the love the greater the jealousy. But one hardly leaves room for the other. Jealousy leads to hate, the opposite of love. You start out hating the person who is receiving your love's attention, then you hate your lover for giving that attention. Finally you hate yourself for hating the one that you love. It is a cycle that has ruined many relationships and kept people from being honest."

"But if you love, unconditionally, you find that their is not limit to how much you can love. If you accept that the girls are part of the equation then you can find your place without unbalancing it. The key is to open your heart to the situation and love them all, everyone within the group, and not be upset when one of them gets attention. Then you can find ways of getting all the love you need while still giving all the love they need."

"You make it sound so easy. Why haven't you joined them? You said you wanted him too."

"True enough, and I do. He has a brilliant mind and a devious sense of humor. But I've been waiting for this conversation."

"You've been waiting for me?"

"Yeah. I knew that you would have problems after what that jackass did to you. So I resolved to stay out of the harem until I could talk some sense into you. You probably wouldn't have to come to me if I was already involved with them."

"Sorry it took me so long." Misato hung her head.

"Well you should be. I've missed out on some unbelievable pleasure from the way you described those sounds coming from the master's bedroom. But I wanted to be here when you were ready."

"Will you come with me when I go to join? I'm not sure I can do this on my own yet."

Ritsuko reached for her friends hand and squeezed it."Sure kid. Big sis will hold your hand while we go to ride the Shinji."

They both laughed at the joke and finished their drinks quickly.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Misato Katsuragi did a great deal of soul searching over the next week. Reflecting on her past relationships helped her to realize that Ritsuko was right about jealousy. The emotion was a vile thing that often left a person incapable of doing anything, let alone loving.

As she delved into her own being to root out all forms of the offending emotion Akagi was always there. The blond scientist patiently helped her friend rearrange her priorities until she had an epiphany.

On Friday afternoon they were sitting on the balcony of Ritsuko's apartment, which looked out over the whole of Tokyo-3. Coming to a decision Misato spoke,"I think I've decided."

"And what is it that you have reached a decision on?"

"That humanity is doomed."

"That's not a very good attitude for the head of NERV tactical operations."

"The Angels are the least of our threats. The greatest enemy that man has ever had is man. What you've helped me to understand is wonderful, but it runs contrary to everything kids are exposed to. They are taught from a young age to see love and jealousy as integral parts of each other. How can we be expected to survive if we breed hate at such a young age."

"The main problem is that our society is sick at it's very core. The only way to eliminate the problem is to reduce the human race to almost nothing, strictly those that agree with us, and start over."

Misato let the silence stretch for a minute before responding. "Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing." She said in little more than a whisper.

"Maybe not, but extinction events are rarely that selective. The trick is to do what you can about yourself, and let the rest of the world tend to itself. So I take it you have decided to join Shinji's harem?"

Misato laughed dryly, "Yeah. That little shit has got me so sexually frustrated I think I would even sleep with the asshole if he offered. But he is everything this sickening world needs. He is the soldier that will lead our forces against the Angels. At the same time he is the perfect example of what love can be, if we just let our hatred and fear of each other go. I want to be one of the people that he turns to when the load is too much. I want to help create a place where the rest of the world can't get to him, where love is all that he feels. I love him Ritsuko. Not just the wonderful body he exhibits so well in his plug suit, but him. I've been living with him for a week and a half, and not once have they ever made me feel unwelcome or pressured to join them."

Akagi sighed, "He is an amazing man. I can't wait to feel him working on me, but I'll let you go first. You look like all these past few days activities with me have done is make you more frustrated."

"Don't get me wrong, what we've done is even better than it was in college, and it's felt wonderful," She purred out the last part. "But I can't wait to feel him touching me. Maya and Rei seem so content since they started living there, I want to know that feeling. Like all is right with the world."

"I'm sure Christ is in Heaven." Akagi deadpanned.

ooo000OOO000ooo

"So Rei, how are you feeling about the reactivation test today?" Shinji asked as he munched on some toast. The three lovers were sitting around the table in the dining room. Despite the accommodations for twenty in the Japanese style dining area, they were all seated together on one side, with Rei and Maya leaning against him from opposite directions.

Rei thought about her response for a moment before answering in a more animate tone than she had ever used. "I'm not sure. In the past I would have simply been following orders. But now I have a reason to strive and succeed. I have the two of you, the ones I love, to protect from the Angels."

"I love you too." Maya said as she leaned over to kiss the younger girl. She had to admit that the last two weeks had seen drastic changes in the pilot's personality. Before Rei had been withdrawn, to the point of not showing any emotions at all. Now she smiled and ,once or twice, had laughed at some of the jokes they had been throwing around. But her most passionate times were still when the three of them were making love.

Shinji had noticed the changes as well and decided Rei was ready for the advice he could give her about piloting an Evangelion. "Rei, when you first connect to Unit-00, do you feel something assault your mind with a sudden burst of emotions and images?"

"Yes. I didn't understand it until now." She paused slightly, remembering the last two weeks of pleasure shared by the three people enjoying the light meal. "The images are passionate, almost ravenous. It's like Eva is trying to communicate something. But I do not know how to respond, and it quickly subsides. Then the beast comes, thrashing around inside my mind, causing me to loose control."

Shinji gripped her tightly as the memories of pain resurfaced to be processed by this new Rei. "Next time, show it your own passion. Let it know that you are a kindred spirit. Then it can help you control the beast."

"It is not part of the Eva?" Rei asked.

Shinji shook his head. "No. It's a human soul trapped inside the Eva. I think it might be one of my mother's friends from when they were working for Gehirn. They were a lusty lot, all three of them. But now their gone, probably all absorbed by the Evas."

"I will try Shinji, but how can I show it that I am it's equal in such things?"

"Picture what we have been doing for the past two weeks, and anything else you can imagine us doing. Then hold that in your mind when you first connect with it. That should give you all you need."

Rei blushed slightly and then shivered as her imagination ran away down the long hot corridor of her mind that led to her feelings for Shinji. "I will attempt what you advise Shinji." She said meekly.

Shinji took her hand and kissed it. "You'll do fine today, I just know it."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Rei sat on the control couch within the flooded entry plug of Unit-00. While she waited for the final connections to be made she pictured Shinji and Maya making love to her in various configurations. The imaginings were causing a warm glow between her legs that had quickly spread to her chest, causing her nipples to crinkle, and finally to her face, which was now flushed a bright pink. She panted slightly in the LCL, the thoughts making the collar of the plug suite feel much to tight.

"Rei," She heard Commander Ikari say over the intercom, a small holo window popping up on her left to show his bespectacled face."Are you prepared for the test?"

"Yes, Commander." She said confidently.

Gendo had noticed the changes in Rei's behavior, realizing that she was becoming very attached to his son. 'Good.' he thought, 'That will make it even easier to get them to do what I want when the time comes.'

He turned to Akagi. "You may proceed, Doctor."

As the connections were forged between Rei and Unit-00 she felt the customary pulse of emotion, the seemingly endless images of lust and passion. This time she responded by focusing on sending her own stream of images back accompanied by the matching emotions.

To her surprise her vision blurred, the entry plug dissolving into gray. After an eternity of the dull existence focus was once again restored to her senses. She found herself sitting on a grassy hill somewhere in the Geofront. The natural sunlight that was transported down into the huge cavern was bathing her in a warmth that reminded her of being in Shinji's arms.

Rei felt mildly self conscious as she noticed someone watching her luxuriate in the soft glow. "Who are you?"

The figure cocked her head and grinned lopsidedly. "I was Noako Akagi, The developer of the MAGI. Now I sometimes wonder if that identity still applies. But to say the least I was a very close friend of the woman who provided most of your genetic structure."

"What do you know of my genetic heritage?" Despite not having met this woman in the flesh, Rei still felt that she had know her for a long time and could trust her.

"Yui Ikari was a passionate woman. She was determined to create a weapon that could protect the entire world from the ravages of the Angels. But her main drive was to safeguard her husband and son. She loved them both so much, and I can see that you inherited most of her kinky nature." She waved an arm and summoned an image from thin air. The scene was Shinji tied to his bed with the girls pleasuring him in ways various and sorted.

Rei blushed lightly before continuing. "You are now the controlling soul of Unit-00, aren't you?"

"I wish I could agree with that, but your wounds last time we tried this are enough prove that one does not control an Eva. You must coerce the beast to follow your lead." Naoko smiled again. "I have spent much time here learning it's tendencies. Unit-00 has very few desires, but most boil down to killing the Angels."

She paused and waited for the girl to ask the inevitable question. Finally Rei spoke. "How may I convince the Evangelion to help me destroy our enemies?"

"The easiest way is to show it that you will help it. Picture the enemy broken and dead on the ground, revel in their demise. But always remind it that you are in charge."

A shape shifted at the edge of her senses and Rei turned her head to see a figure of mist standing their, watching her. "That's her isn't it?"

"Yes. I will try to give you all the information I have, but you must make peace with the beast for this to work." Akagi looked around as the mind scape started dissolving. "We don't have long before your mind must rejoin the regular flow of time. But now that you have come this far it will be easier. Remember that I am here to help you Rei Ayanami."

Rei found herself back in the entry plug with the techs reporting the final connections closed. Her perspective changed, her thoughts merging with those of the Eva. The beast within the machine charged forth, trying to dominate her mind. Rei thought with all her will, 'STOP THAT! I will help you to kill the others, but we must finish this process successfully before that can happen. If you work with me this is what we shall do.' She concentrated on an image of the Eva standing over the corpses of the last two Angels, drenched in their blood and roaring to the heavens for another. She found the image oddly appealing, as though it resonated with a part of herself that she didn't know existed until that moment.

"We've passed the activation threshold." Akagi's voice came over the intercom. "Sync ratio rising to fifty percent. Fifty-five. Leveling off at sixty-two. That's impressive Rei."

The doctor's words of praise were cut off by alarms sounding throughout the base. A voice filtered through the from the bridge. "Commander, we have a contact approaching from off shore. Pattern is confirmed, Blue."

Ikari flipped a control, killing the alarm, and spoke to the reporting officer. "Prep Unit-01 for immediate deployment." He then turned to the head of the science devision. "Shut down Unit-00 and move it to the cages for equipment installation. We have seen that whatever issues it was having before have been resolved. Good work Rei."

ooo000OOO000ooo

There it is, chapter 8. Hope you enjoy it. As I said in my profile I'm putting all the rest of my stories into slow mode so I can focus on this one. I hope to update at least twice a month. I'm gonna try to finish one story at a time before I work on the others. I appreatate the great responce this story has recieved.

As always thanks to my wife for prereading for me.


	9. Chapter 9: Attacks and Counters

Hentai Shinji Chapter 9: Attacks and Counters

Shinji was changed into his plug suit before the purple coolant fluid had even half finished draining from the storage cage of Unit-01. He ran out of the locker room to find Rei and Ritsuko waiting for him on the catwalks that led to the loading area. He walked over to his fellow pilot and hugged her tightly, whispering in her ear. "Don't worry. This one will be just as easy as the others."

She kissed him quickly before leaving with unshed tears in her eyes. Thoughts of concern raged against her confidence in Shinji, but she refused to burden him with her own insecurities.

"So Doc," Shinji said. "What have you got for me?"

Ritsuko sighed heavily. "First of all, drop the macho act. It's good for her, but we both know that you have no idea what you're about to face."

Shinji smiled crookedly and then let a chuckle escape his lips. When he finished his face became deadly serious. "Okay. What do you know about this thing?"

"Better." She handed him a clipboard. "The Angel is in the shape of an octahedron and is floating just over a hundred meters off the ground. We have no idea what it's defensive of offensive capabilities are."

"It's designed for long range attack." Shinji said absently.

"How do you know that?" Ritsuko asked.

"It has no way of engaging in hand to hand combat. And it would continue the trend toward getting out of my engagement range. I've demonstrated that getting too close to me is bad for an Angel's health. So this thing is going to be able to attack from a really long way out."

"Are you suggesting that the enemy is adapting to our tactics with each new model?" Ritsuko had suspected this as a possibility, but to have someone agree with her was just uncanny.

"Yeah." Shinji replied with some worry in his voice. "Which means that if we launch me too close, I'm screwed. We have to put me far enough away to have some time before it can fire on me."

"But we don't have too many shafts on the outskirts. We only have one along it's projected path of approach."

"Then we need to rethink the launch protocols."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji was seated in the entry plug, gently reclining against the cushions in the almost standing position that was required during insertion. He was readying himself for the initial connection, reviewing what he might do if this all went pear shaped.

'Yen for your thoughts, my son.' His mother's thoughts echoed through his mind as the connection finished.

'Why should I charge when you have full access to my surface thoughts?'

'Yes, that's true. And I'm very tempted to be angry with you. But your actions are understandable with me as your mother.'

'My mother's mind and soul are merged with a giant fighting mecha and my father is a neurotic asshole with a god complex. I think you can forgive me for having a sort of Oedipus complex. It could always be worse.'

'I'm sure it could dear, but I don't see how.'

'I could be an insecure wimp who simply wants the acknowledgment of his father. That would be a twist.' He smirked. 'And too close to what I was before. I so wanted him to want me as a son. But it eventually became obvious that would never happen. So I got over it and started living my own life. Then he had to go and screw everything up.'

'Don't be angry with him Shinji. He was just doing what he thought would be best.'

'How can you defend him? He abandoned me after you disappeared.'

'I'm not saying that I agree with his actions, but they do make sense from a specific point of view.'

'I know that I promised to give it a chance. It just gets harder the longer I have to wait for him to get back to me. I almost think he's avoiding me'

Shinji's conversation was cut off by Misato's face appearing in a holo window at his side. "Are you ready Shinji?"

"Is the new plan in place?" He responded.

"Yeah. You should be a few valleys from the Angel when you emerge. Then you can recon how it attacks."

"Then I think I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Wish me luck girls." He said.

"Good luck." Was the chorus of replies he got from four separate sources.

He triggered the launch sequence and whooped from the harsh acceleration generated by the electro-magnetic rail system that shot him toward the surface. "WooHoo."

As he jolted to a stop at the top of the shaft brilliant sunlight bathed the whole area, filtering through his link to the Eva to give him a warm feeling across his front. He stood soaking it in for a second before releasing the restraints. 'Plenty of time for that later.' He thought.

He climbed carefully over the hill and barely popped his head above the ridge.

There hanging in the distance was the enemy. An octahedron of death shimmering in the sun like some subdued piece of semi-neolithic modern art.

Suddenly Ritsuko's face appeared on a screen in the plug. "Remember Shinji. Your AT field becomes more efficient as your sync ratio goes up, but if it goes too high you risk contamination. Try to keep your ratio around one-hundred percent and you should be able to use the field effectively without any of the risks."

"Yes Ritsuko. I have read everything you gave me on AT field theory, remember." He sighed out. "That was how I managed to pull off that little trick last time."

"We know Shinji." Misato replied. "We just worry about you."

"That's so sweet Misato. Are your maternal instincts kicking in finally?" Maya asked from her station.

Shinji and the rest of the bridge crew chuckled at the indigent glare that the lieutenant was receiving until the pilot interrupted. "Thanks for the concern, everyone. But there is only one way to see exactly what this thing is capable of."

Matching actions to words he flipped lithely over the ridge and slid down the other side, uprooting trees in his path. Despite the reach of the power cable, which would have allowed him to get over into the valley Ramiel was drifting through, Shinji had still insisted on taking the semi-trailer sized backup batteries that were an option for extended operations away from the prepared grid.

As he slowed near the bottom of the incline, he set off at a full run up the opposite side, trying to intercept the enemy before it got too close to the city. He deployed his AT field just in case the enemy had the range he feared it could have.

Suddenly one of the other bridge officers called out. "Reading a high energy reaction within the target. Power is building and massing on itself. Looks like it's getting ready to fire."

Just as the words were spoken a beam of light shot through the top of the hill Shinji was about to crest. It vaporised the rock and sent chunks the size of small cars raining all around.

"I guess that answers that question." Shinji observed as he slid a short distance back down the slope. "So what do we know now, Doc?"

"The enemy is using a high energy partial beam, probably positron. Try to stay away from it." The chief scientist advised. "The power level of that attack is almost enough to peg out our sensors. If that beam hits you it will probably shred the AT field like wet tissue paper."

Shinji considered his options for a moment before answering. "Doc, Misato, I'm sorry, but I have to disobey orders in order to accomplish our mission objectives."

"What are you thinking Shinji?" Misato asked.

"If I can increase the efficiency of the AT field then I should be able to defeat the target. But there is only one way to do that." Shinji said as he released the control he was maintaining over his sync ratio.

The entire bridge crew watched in awe as the level rose from 105% to 173% in a matter of seconds.

Ritsuko gasped, "Shinji! At those levels you're risking contamination."

"I know." Shinji said with strain in his voice as he focused on pushing his sync ratio even higher. "But this is the only way. The amount of energy I can draw is finite, so I have to make the field more efficient."

The bridge crew watched again in awe as the pilot inched closer to 200%. Every few seconds he got closer to his goal as the enemy continued toward it's goal.

Shinji muttered absently, "Or is there?"

Just as this sync ratio was reached the cockpit video went blank, cut at the source.

"Shinji!" Four voices cried out in unison.

ooo000OOO000ooo

In the entry plug of Unit-01 Shinji Ikari was busy reconfiguring the AT field settings into the most dangerous of its three modes. The field collapsed into a skin tight shell around the Eva, no longer providing any protection as the Angel fired again. The positron beam dug deeply into the far side of the mountain, vaporizing thousands of tons of rock and dirt in its path. But the beam only penetrated 31% of the shielding land mass and the Angel moved out of alignment with the predrilled hole.

Shinji focused all his will on taking hold of reality within the altered space of the field and molded it to his will. The resulting change was relatively small compared to the sheer amount of difference he was capable of producing. Within the chest of the Evangelion a formerly inactive organ started emitting a bright red glow, unseen by anyone due to the tissue and armor covering the location. Similarly, faint lines of red light began forming along Shinji's skin, perfectly tracing the blood vessels of his body.

The light grew in intensity until it was blinding enough to obscure his vision. He tuned the offending input out, supplemented by the ultra-sharp sensor data relayed directly into his mind from the mecha that he had joined his mind with.

As the changes stabilized he returned the AT field to the default setting of barrier. With a sigh of relief he set his jaw and started back up the hill.

ooo000OOO000ooo

"We're reading two distinct orange patterns. Their emanating from the Eva." Maya called as the Eva once again started ascending the outcropping of rock that it had recently slid down.

"What does that mean?" Misato asked, trying to keep up with what was happening, and hopefully adjust for it.

"It means that the Eva now has an active S2 organ. Shinji found a way to activate it and probably wound up getting contaminated through the link." Ritsuko replied. The last part was just a wild guess, but it fit.

They all knew what it could mean if Shinji absorbed too many features from the rage filled mecha. Yet all they could do was watch as it neared the top.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Ramiel fired repeatedly, tracking the Eva as it neared the summit. The Angel was not pleased by the shift in its enemy's signature. Somehow the human created abomination had gained two power organs, possibly giving it enough energy to withstand a full power blast from its cannon. Then something changed that caused the giant Angel to stop, despite being well short of its goal. Ramiel diverted all available power to the impressive field it was projecting, causing it to strengthen even more.

ooo000OOO000ooo

At their current sync level their was no real distinction between the pilot and the mecha called Unit-01. The three minds thought as one, sharing each others strengths and canceling out the weaknesses.

Shinji focused his thoughts, forming a black sphere before him. Though small at first it soon grew to a size that would shield most of the Eva from fire. Inside the orb energy was already starting to collect, allowed only entry by the polarized AT field.

Then Shinji walked cautiously over the rise and braced against the coming assault.

He did not have long to wait as his target unloaded with a sustained burst. The high energy positrons passed unhindered through the field, only to be bounced around the inside until they had bled off most of their momentum. As the pressure grew within the sphere he began passing electrical current from the conduits in his hands into the ball of building death.

ooo000OOO000ooo

"He's canceling the positron flow with an electron charge. That's going to produce one hell of an explosion in that containment field. Also the exotic particles in there are going to be more dangerous than antimatter." Ritsuko reported as she came to grips with the unfolding plan before them.

"Can that field hold?" Misato asked.

"If the current increase rate holds it should exceed the limits of what we can provide in twenty seconds." Maya answered.

Once again Ritsuko bent intently over her display, "It looks like there's small instabilities forming in the surface of the field."

"Is it already failing?" Katsuragi asked, concern resounding in every word.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji slowly pushed the weak stops toward the front as the pressure within the orb climbed. He knew that he had to wait for the right moment, just after the other beam terminated, to fire back. He was only going to get one shot, the strain of controlling so many details already beginning to overwhelm the three minds.

Finally the attack ceased, just short of the absolute threshold of his power. Shinji compressed the ball by a factor of five and shaped it into an elongated ovoid, the pointy end facing the target. Then he forced all the dots of weakness together, opening a minuscule hole and unleashing the very building blocks of reality.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Everyone in the command center watched in stunned horror as a line of fire was traced back along the path that the Angel's positron cannon had recently fired through.

"What's happening doctor?" Gendo asked from his dais.

Ritsuko turned to find the arrogant man on his feet, eyes glued to the projection. "As far as I can tell he has neutralized the antimatter and used the resulting energy and particles as a weapon. Unfortunately the cancellation process would produce quarks. These are the smallest known particles that matter can be broken down into."

As she finished her explanation the beam emitting from the Eva's position made contact with the Angel's AT field, causing it to flare briefly before it ceased to exist.

The particle beam burned deeply into the structure of the massive foe, secondary reactions causing the damage to snake outward from the point of entry.

Ritsuko continued her explanation, "Most of the time quarks will join with others of different types and thereby create larger particles. But sometimes they will group together with more of their own type, producing a dangerous substance. When groups of similar quarks hit other matter they cause the release of energy, exceeding even the magnitude of a matter/antimatter reaction. This reaction also causes the release of more quarks, some of which will have the same pairing arrangement. In this way a quarkium explosion can propagate outward to an incalculably distance."

Finally the AT bubble dissipated, releasing a few hundred stray particles to the open air. Just as this happened several of the energy transfer points on the suit and in the underground cables burned out. This caused the Eva's power levels to drop to less than ten percent.

Both Angel and Eva fell, their S2 organs no longer providing power. For Ramiel this was due to it having an expanding hole where the vital part used to be. The Eva's organ simply returned to an inactive state.

Shinji opened a comm window to the command bridge, "Misato, please tell me we killed it." He said slowly, having to force himself to remain conscious.

Maya reported from her console, "Pattern blue no longer detected. Target is silent."

"Yeah Shinji. You killed it." Misato answered in a gentle voice.

The exhausted pilot sighed, "Good. I'm gonna pass out now. That took too much out of me." He collapsed, drifting off the control couch and coming to rest against the curved surface of the entry plug.

"You go ahead and get some sleep hero." Misato whispered.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji awoke slowly, his body complaining about indignities that he had forced on it. Despite all the pain he felt an unnatural amount of energy. Focusing his thoughts the pain began to fade, confirming his suspicions.

He open his eyes to find four women standing at the foot of his bed, talking quietly. He spoke, his voice gravelly, "How long do I have to live doc?"

All the women spun to look at him, deep concern etched on their faces. Ritsuko spoke first, "As far as I can tell, sixty or seventy years. So long as you can keep knockin' em down like that."

Maya and Rei rushed to opposite sides of the bed and hugged him tightly. Shinji felt the ache in his ribs return from the pressure and objected, "I need to breath girls."

They let him go and stepped aside as Misato made her approach. When she reached his side she drew her left hand back and slapped him across the face. "That is for scaring me half to death. And I'm afraid I'll have to add an official reprimand to your file for willfully disobeying orders."

Shinji gave her his special smile, "I understand. Can't have a rouge pilot that goes around disobeying orders. Now can we?"

The NERV captain collapsed against his side, squeezing him with a pressure to rival the two previous hugs combined. This time Shinji just ran his fingers through her hair and let the distraught woman wind down. His two lovers joined in, supplying gentle support for them both.

After a few moments Ritsuko cleared her throat, "If you can disentangle yourselves for a moment, he is fit to return home." She smiled. "Go ahead and take him. I'll catch up when I can get away."

ooo000OOO000ooo

When Shinji answered the door he was wearing a skin tight tee and shorts, making Ritsuko nearly loose her focus at the sight of him.

"Hey Rits. Come on in." He said as he stepped aside to allow her passage.

"Thanks Shinji. It was stressful trying to sort out what happened today. And I could certainly use something to drink, if you have any." She said as she walked past him.

"Sure." He said with a smirk. "Go join them in the living room and I'll get you something."

Akagi followed his gesture toward the sound of giggling. She turned the corner to find her best friend sitting on a pillow with Shinji's two other lovers, all clad in tight fitting silk robes that left very little to the imagination.

"Hi Ritsuko. Come join us." Misato purred, mischief permeating every syllable. "We were just comparing notes."

"I see you are making yourself at home girls." The blond said as she grabbed another of the overstuffed pillows and dropped onto it unceremoniously.

Maya giggled slightly, "Technically we all live here. Shinji has invited us to stay as long as we like."

"And I see this as being the most efficient arrangement for all of us." Rei said in her old, emotionless tone. Then her face softened and she spoke with lust in her voice, "And it is so relaxing here."

Shinji walked in with a glass and handed it to Ritsuko, "See if that doesn't do something for your nerves."

Then he lay down on his own pillow between the girls, allowing them to arrange themselves as they saw fit to get comfortable.

The scientist took an experimental sip and then, recognizing the beverage as something she once had at the American Branch, downed half of the glass. "That hits the spot, especially when it's mixed just right."

"True," Shinji sighed, "But most idiots just like to add too much alcohol to it. Then all you get is the taste of liquor until it starts numbing your mouth."

"So, what have I missed?" Akagi asked.

"I had a dreamy bath with these three." Misato stated. "And then we came out here to talk and wait for you."

Ritsuko smiled. "That sounds like fun." She grabbed Shinji's hand and started dragging him out of the room, saying over her shoulder, "Just entertain yourselves. We'll be back."

She received a unanimous, "We will." As she dragged the male pilot away.

On entering the outer bath she spun and locked the door before leaning down to kiss Shinji. She let all her turbulent emotions pour out through that contact and he answered with calming confidence. He slowly slipped the lab coat off her shoulders and ran his hands lightly up her back, caressing her through the thin fabric.

Ritsuko let her own hands wander, exploring the body she had only seen before now. Finally she regained enough of her center to separate from the embrace and stand before him. "Shinji. I have to ask you something before we continue."

"Shoot doc." He responded, leaning against the door.

"Do you still posses a S2 organ?" She asked, deciding not to beat around the bush.

Shinji smiled broadly. "Figures. Was it the city sensors that gave me away?"

"Yeah. We picked up two distinct orange patterns coming from the Eva."

Shinji focused his thoughts and brought forth the energy, causing his blood vessels to glow a dull red. "It seems I do still have it."

"Interesting." She observed, as she examined one of his hands. "But why? The Eva's organ deactivated when the AT field collapsed."

"Because I still have my AT field. When I initiated the change we were merged, one mind and all that. But when we separated my AT field reasserted itself and maintained the change." He said as he let the glow die.

"What can you do with it?" She asked, a slightly giddy tone to her voice.

"Almost nothing." Shinji stated. He laughed dryly at her expression, "The human AT field is set up differently. We all have one, but we can't extend it past ourselves. Even with all the power provided by the organ I still can't expand my field all that much. Oh, I can modify myself. But that's it, no special abilities past my own skin. I don't have Angel DNA to allow me to maintain this self without an AT field."

At the anticlimactic answer Ritsuko frowned, "So you could survive anything now?"

"Almost." He said. "It's not really the same as an Angel based AT field. I can manipulate my biochemistry to an extent, and repair damage a little faster. Not stop bullets or anything, we're not built like that. We have our limitations, imposed on us through evolution. Even the Angels have their limitations, caused because of the same blind chances. I can supplement the Eva's power, providing almost as much as its own organ. We have adapted to be symbiotic with each other, and she will not accept another now."

"She? You mean your mother, the controlling consciousness." Akagi asked, her tone showing the sympathy she felt for the boy. Having his mother right there bit still out of reach.

Shinji threw his head back and laughed, ignoring the indignant look on the blond's face. As he recovered he answered her question. "No one controls an Eva. My mother has been joined with it long enough to develop a rapport, nothing more. She acts as a conduit to allow me to connect more fully. By she I mean Eva, the beauty behind the beast."

He got a far away look in his eyes for a moment, then continued. "Eva has a great deal of rage coupled with a vast intellect. Unfortunately it has almost no will to overcome its rage. That's where the resident consciousness comes in. With mother's help I can persuade the Eva to control itself."

Akagi allowed this newest pieces of the puzzle to fall into place and quickly reexamined her world picture. Deciding that none of this interfered with her current plans she started unbuttoning her blouse, saying, "Where were we?"

Shinji smiled and began taking his own clothes off.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Gendo Ikari sat in the back of the black Section 2 sedan contemplating his current course of action. He knew that he should not interfere with his son's growing circle of companions, even if it now encompassed most of his female command staff. This would just give him another way to control them all when it came time to put his final plan into motion.

On another note he should try to encourage the boys imagination, in the hopes that he would find ways of defeating every Angel. But the only way to do this was to get past all the hatred that Shinji had for his own father.

This left the commander of NERV's Japan branch sitting outside his son's house, trying to find the right way to start.

After ten minutes of delaying, Gendo opened the door and stepped out into the night. As he crossed the road he found his palms sweating. Finally he reached the stone path that led to the front door, letting the regular clicking of his shoes set the pace for his heart. On arriving at the front door he pulled the chain and waited.

A few moments later Shinji came to the door dressed in a shirt and shorts, an annoyed scowl on his face. "What can I do for you Commander?" He asked with just a hint of anger in his voice.

Gendo blinked once at the verbal slap before speaking, "I remember our deal including me answering several questions. Until now I have been quite busy with arranging everything from the return pf the Angels. Now I find myself caught up enough to put some time aside for a little talk." Gendo said completely straight faced. "If your not currently busy, that is."

Shinji let the ghost of a smile play across his features, "I would like that, sir. If you would please follow me." Shinji led his father through the entryway and around to a shielded courtyard with a large cherry tree, that had been transplanted there, standing in the center. The courtyard was sectioned into quadrants with a pair of stone benches in each.

The two men walked to the nearest of them and sat facing each other. Gendo adjusted his glasses and began. "What do you want to know Shinji?"

The young man sat pensively for a moment before saying, "Why?"

Gendo felt as though he had been slapped, again, by the word. So much anger and hate had been infused into the single syllable that it was almost a killing weapon. "I did it to protect you."

"From what? The Angels, the world, the pain of loosing her."

"All that and more." Gendo held up his hand to forestall the response. "When your mother died part of me went with her. The part that could love. I stopped feeling anything, stopped wanting to live."

"But there was you. And you were the last part of her left. So I promised that I would keep you safe through the coming storm. My world is full of threats that go far beyond the Angels. Many of them would be more than willing to use you against me if they had any doubt of my loyalty. So I sent you away and dedicated myself to the project without even looking back. That convinced them that I truly didn't care about you, and kept you safe from the work that had taken Yui away from us."

"So why did you break that cover by calling me back?" Shinji asked, a hint of pleading mixed with the fury he kept barely contained.

"I would have maintained the lie for eternity, but only certain people can pilot the Eva and create an AT field. Something happened during Second Impact that changed all the children born after. Then certain events in those children's lives shaped their personality into the exact form required. We have a group of foundations that research every child on the planet looking for the right ones."

"When did you find out about me?"

"The day I sent for you. It turned out that the only way to protect you was to place you in harms way." Gendo chuckled lightly. "You are probably safer in the Eva than you would be anywhere else. Even if the Angels are successful in causing Third Impact the AT field of the Eva may help protect you."

Shinji's face flashed with anger as the implications hit him. "And what about everyone else? What about the ones I love?"

"They would die. And you are the only one who can stop that from happening at the moment." Gendo took his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I would like to know if you can bring her back to me."

The question took Shinji by surprise, causing him to switch gears. He abandoned his rage, knowing that he had already lost control of the conversation. "I don't know. She is an integral part of the Eva now and I haven't had enough interaction with her yet. Eva is a creature of rage and power, capable of dominating any lone mind that she comes up against. That is why we need to face her together, we can get her to calm down enough to talk. With time we may find a way to bring her back. That's the best I can do."

Gendo put his glasses back on and adjusted them. "Thank you son. You have awoken something inside me that has started a chain reaction of emotions that I have not felt in ten years. You have given me hope, and for that I am in your debt."

"Because of that I must warn you, the committee is a powerful group that does not like changes in their plans. By activating Unit-01's S2 organ, albeit momentarily, you have confused their timetables. You have also shown me that the prophecies of the Dead Sea Scrolls are not absolute. Three times you have easily defeated the Angels, once by turning it's own attack back on it. They will try to neutralize you, but that will not happen. I have assigned the most loyal members of Section 2 to guard your household. They will be unobtrusive, yet thorough."

Gendo stood and inclined his head favorably toward his child. "Now I need to go. I enjoyed our time together and hope to do it again soon."

Shinji rushed forward and hugged his father around the waist. "I hope so too dad."

Gendo wrapped his arms around Shinji and enjoyed the familial warmth of the sensation. After a moment they broke and the elder Ikari retraced his steps out of the house. The younger of the two stood their for a moment, thinking about the conversation. Going over every point with a fine comb until he was satisfied. His father was telling the truth, or was a brilliant liar. Either possibility was equally capable of being true, or the entire dialog could have been a mix of both. Just like Shinji's part. Just enough lie to get the information he needed. Now it was time to start the ball rolling.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Gendo relaxed in the back seat of the sedan, mirroring his son's thought processes. Now the boy could start fighting the old men, right alongside his dad. The fools would never know what hit them.

He fished his phone from his pocket and hit a speed dial. After a short wait the circuit connected. "Fuyutsuki. Send the files." He hung up and sunk deeper into the cushions. Shortly sleep took him as he finally stopped fighting it. Three days was a long time to be awake after all.

For the first time in too long he experienced something that had not happened often in ten years. He dreamed.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Once again, here it is, a new chapter. I would like to thank everyone for the supportive reviews. they really help when the sock puppets come to call. As I said before, I will be focusing on this story for the foreseeable future. This is primarily because I can see where this one is going all the way until the end. This means that I should be updating at least twice a month.

Thanks to my wife for prereading for me. She also appreciates the fact that now she only has one story to read, instead of six.


	10. Chapter 10: Politics

Hentai Shinji Chapter 10: Politics

Author's Note: Some readers have expressed a negative opinion of Gendo Ikari. While I would agree that in cannon he was an unmitigated bastard, the main difference in this version is how Shinji not being a spineless wimp idiot would cause other people to change around him. I'm not saying that he is not going to be an expert manipulator, that's his job, but with a little hope of getting his wife back without having to kill humanity to do it might cause him to interact with people differently.

In a room that no one ever entered, in an undisclosed location, only able to be found by computers, many black shapes appeared. Each monolith was marked with a different number and the words 'Video Error'. Through unspoken agreement none of the members of this particular shadow cabinet wanted to be identified.

This particular session of The Committee was special. A full week before the scheduled meeting they had all been summoned to hear the reports of a few members. As the last participant logged in one of the shapes spoke, its voice digitally distorted, "Will someone please explain what the hell is going on?"

Several others shouted their agreement with this statement. As the sound died down another spoke, "I called this meeting to explain the happenings in Tokyo-3 today. It appears that the Ikari child managed to activate the S2 organ in Unit-1."

"What is Ikari doing?" A voice with a French accent asked.

"Letting his son play with the Eva like it is his personal toy." A Russian voice answered.

"We should never have allowed this to happen." A British accented voice exclaimed. The reporting voice called over them, "It is true that we have given Ikari too much latitude in these matters. But he is getting results."

The Russian voice returned, "It is true that he has put together a team that can combat the Angels, but at what cost?"

"It is not the purpose of this project to create a new god." An Arabic tinted voice called out.

The main voice called again, "It gets worse. Over the past week he has neutralized every plant we had in the Japan branch. It was carried out with surgical precision, not leaving any traces to lead back to him."

"I hear he even managed to get three of our operatives into a building that was crushed by the latest Angel." A voice with a southern accent said.

"We have to eliminate Ikari before he manages to solidify his power anymore." A French voice stated.

Once again the primary voice restored order, "What do you suggest we do? We no longer have anyone close enough to take him out of the picture. He currently has Section 2 providing security for himself and the boy. We can't even get an operative into the city without him knowing."

He took a deep breath and continued, "And even if we wanted to we have no weapon that can stand against one Eva, let alone three, as Unit-0 is almost ready for deployment and Unit-2 is already in transit. The only course of action we have is to wait for a moment to bring about the end of this madness with the production model Evas."

The Russian voice shouted, "But they won't be ready for months, and the dummy plug program is still in its infancy."

"I know, but all we can do now is wait and try to restrict his options."

The French voice answered, "That may not be easy. The repair costs for the Eva have been dropping steadily. Even this last battle costs them ten percent less than the one before. At this rate Ikari will be able to run his entire operation with nothing more than the taxes raised from Tokyo-3."

"By the time the last Angel is defeated he will have an empire. If we do nothing the whole situation will spiral out of our control shortly." The Russian said.

"All we can do is work quietly. The Angels must be defeated. Aside from interfering with that do what you will." The leading voice said.

The room went quiet as the various forms disappeared, leaving Keel Lorenz sitting silently behind his desk. 'Damn you Ikari.' He thought, 'You have become too much of an obstacle to be tolerated any longer. But what are you really planning?"

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji sat watching the four women in his life as they ate too many shades of chocolate ice cream for him to keep up with. Being a guy he would never understand the female reaction to the fruit named the 'food of the gods', but that didn't mean that he would deny its effects.

The little shop boasted only homemade style ice cream in so many flavors they could rival even the big markets. One day he had decided to ask about this peculiarity, only to learn the largest truth of the universe; Reality is always stranger than the imagination. According to the shop owner, he had three base recopies that he then added various ingredients to in order to get the wide variety. After this explanation the middle-aged man had led the young pilot into the kitchen to reveal an entire freezer full of ice cream, and another wall packed with machines churning out even more.

Shaking his head at the memory he took another bite of his vanilla, and returned to studying the girls. He had imagined perhaps getting Misato and Rei. The commander was so sexually frustrated when he met her that she had been a little too responsive. While his fellow pilot was so repressed that all he had to do was show her enough kindness to coax her out of the thick wall of ice that had formed around her heart, and into his bed.

The surprises had been Maya and Ritsuko. He had made no attempt to openly flirt with them. On the other hand he had not gone out of his way to discourage their advances. The doctor was obviously interested from the first post mission physical, and apparently the bridge bunny and he had been connected since before he got to the twisted city.

Now he was actually glad that he had disobeyed orders a few days prior. Being a teenager, he had a seemingly limitless supply if both energy and libido, when in fact they had very specific limits. At least until he possessed an S2 organ. With a few minor tweaks to his system he could keep going for days if necessary. Which was a good thing with four women conspiring together to keep him as occupied as possible during the first twelve hours after his father had visited. Finally their sleeping schedules had synchronized, allowing him to curl into the center of the group and sleep soundly, for a few hours at least.

Then they had all been awake again and ready for some time wasted together during a group bath. His accelerated healing also came in handy during these marathons.

Shinji's perfect recall of the recent pleasures was interrupted by a man in a black suit wearing matching glasses approaching their table and handing him an unimpressive orange-brown envelope. Then the messenger was gone again, disappearing to whatever listening post he had come from.

Shinji drew a small, thin-bladed knife from a boot sheath and slit the package carefully. Inside he found four discs labeled with cryptic strings of numbers and a letter. Quickly scanning the single paragraph, he realized that the information was from his father. One disc had the entire history of the group that had created NERV, as well as that company's background. The second was detailed bios on the members of Seele. The third was a list of possible contacts, if he chose to join the fight, and the last was detailed information on the techniques he would need to do battle with the best scum millennia of evolution had been able to produce.

Shinji quickly transferred the contents to various pockets all over his person, all of which sealed. Then he took a deep breath and looked up to find four pairs of eyes looking at him curiously.

Misato asked, "Since when do Section 2 operatives act as a delivery service?"

Shinji shrugged. "When they are delivering a message for the boss."

Ritsuko laughed once, "You never did tell us what you talked about last night."

"Not much." Shinji started. "Mostly personal history. Then we discussed the dangers posed by particular political groups. Oh, then he asked about the possibility of getting mom out of the Eva."

All four women gasped and Ritsuko asked, "Is that wise? You said she acts as a conduit for you. Wouldn't that cause the Eva to be harder to control?"

"Like I said, no one controls an Eva. But to answer your question, if I can build a better connection with the beast then she might be willing to let mom go. I just don't know how to do it. She doesn't think like we do, so it will take time, if it's even doable." He pinched the bridge of his nose before continuing. "There are other problems to consider first. This Committee sounds like bad news on their own, but I have to find a way to keep them at bay until we can solidify our hold on the right to survive."

"Hey, Shinji." Misato interrupted, feeling that a change of subject was in order, "I think we could use a break. They are delivering Unit-2 soon, so why don't we take a trip to the fleet that is bringing it here?"

"Sounds like a plan, but what about the possibility of attack?" He responded.

Misato waved a hand dismissively, "The Eva is being escorted by the combined UN Pacific fleet, not that they can actually accomplish much against an Angel. But we can see about a day trip, just long enough to get out of town for a little while."

Shinji grinned, "A little ocean going romance for the group. Sounds like fun. What do you think Rei?"

The pale girl smiled halfheartedly, "It sounds like a wonderful idea Shinji." Then she let her face fall, "But I am afraid that they won't let both of us go. As you hinted at, one functional Eva has to be available in case of attack."

Misato frowned, "I didn't think about that. I'm sorry Rei, but we may just have to cancel this idea. I don't want you to feel left out."

Rei looked the older woman in the eyes. "I don't want to spoil the trip for everyone. Please don't cancel on my account."

Shinji put his hand on the fellow pilot's shoulder, drawing her attention. "It just wouldn't be the same without the whole family." He saw the surprise and pleasure in the young girl's eyes at his choice of pronoun. "I'll talk to the old fart about it and see what we can do. If we can't all go, then I just don't think I could really enjoy myself. I would feel like a part of me was missing."

Maya sighed lovingly, "That's so romantic. How did we get so lucky?" Not waiting for an answer she hugged Rei from behind and spoke to the girl, "The same goes for the rest of us too. It just wouldn't be right to leave any of us out like that."

Misato smiled warmly at the emotions she felt coming from all of them, even herself, "Then you had better talk to your father soon. We only have a week to plan this little outing."

Shinji gathered them all up and led the way out of the shop, steering the group toward home. After a few minutes he spoke, "I'll talk to the commander tomorrow, after I've had a chance to review all the information he gave me."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji Ikari was shown into his father's office by the secretary. She closed the inner door behind him and he went forward to stand easily before the desk. Behind that desk Gendo Ikari sat, leaning back in his chair, relaxed. At his right hand was Kozo, not believing the posture his friend was taking.

Shinji smiled, "Hey dad. I have several questions and a request, if you don't mind."

"Not at all. I was just sitting in here practicing my menacing look and talking when they informed me you had requested a meeting. What can I do for you son?"

"I was wondering about several points in the data you gave me." At his father's nod Shinji continued. "First I would like to know how trustworthy the contacts you suggested are."

"They have been checked out thoroughly by Section 2. And they are the best kind of operatives, ones that have been burned by the Committee in the past."

"Therefore they have all the motivation they need, and all they lack is funding. So why haven't you used them yet?" Shinji asked.

"Only so many operations can be funded from my personal resources. But you could provide another source of funding, and thereby an additional angle of attack." Gendo countered.

"True, and with the information you gave me about the plans they have for us, I want them stopped as well. But Instrumentality could be a way to reunite you with mom. Why do you now want it stopped?"

"You have shown me that she is still alive, somewhere in the Eva. If there is even a chance that you can bring her out, then I see no reason to subject you or anyone else to my deepest thoughts."

Fuyutsuki was amazed at the conversation playing out before him. Never since his student's disappearance had he seen Gendo so hopeful. This boy was doing something amazing to his good friend, and Kozo was glad for it.

"I agree, given what mom has shown me, I don't think I could take it."

Gendo surprised the other two by blushing lightly, "How much has she shown you?"

Shinji laughed lightly at his father's reaction, "Only enough to establish the connection, but that was enough. If I wasn't already so screwed up, I think I would be scarred for life." His face became serious as he moved on to his last point. "In that case I agree to help you abolish Seele."

Gendo rose from his chair and walked around to face his son as an equal. He reached out and shook Shinji's hand in the western gesture of agreement. "Then it is settled. I'll send you whatever information I can to help you. All that I ask is that you do the same, and wait until we have them all targeted before we act. No use neutralizing most of them just to have a few go into hiding and come back to bite us in the ass later."

"Agreed. May we drive our enemies before us, and revel in their blood after." Shinji spoke in a formal voice.

Gendo gave his son's hand one last shake and returned to his seat. "You mentioned a request." He said as he sat.

"Misato has proposed a day trip to meet the fleet transporting Unit-02 to Japan. I would like it if I could take my entire group with me." Shinji said, knowing he still had a card to play if any major objections cropped up.

"You are aware of the need to maintain an active defense in case of attack?" Fuyutsuki said.

"Yes sir. But it will be only a short hop, no more than a half hour by jet to return." Shinji smirked then, "And I can assure you that no attack will occur here while we are gone."

"How can you be so sure my son?"

Shinji built the energy flow from his S2 organ until it shown forth across his skin. Once he was sure his audience had gotten the point he let the lines of red light fade and spoke, "One of the abilities I've picked up is AT field sensing. It took me about three hours to learn how to tune out the background noise of humanity, but that left me picking up only five fields operating at above human normal."

"Five!" the aging professor exclaimed, "How could so many be active at once."

Gendo chose to answer, "One is Lilith, in the basement. The second is Rei, the third Shinji. The fourth would be Adam, riding with the fleet that is bringing Unit-02 here. And the fifth would be the next Angel."

"Yes." Shinji said, "From what I can tell, it is still developing. But it is moving slowly, angling toward the fleet, where Adam slumbers."

Gendo nodded at the new information, "Very well, you may take Rei with you."

"Thanks dad." Shinji said as he turned to leave.

Before he got far Gendo called out, a mischievous note in his words, "Have fun Shinji."

Shinji smiled over his shoulder and strode smoothly out of the room. Once he was gone Kozo turned on his old friend and asked. "Okay, who are you, and what have you done with Gendo Ikari?"

The commander chuckled at his long time adviser's use of the cliché, "It's me, old friend. The me you knew before that horrid test. My son has brought me back to the surface. Or would you like a DNA test to confirm it?"

"I do remember this you from so long ago. I thought this side was lost forever."

"Forever is a long time. But I am finally back, and you know what that means, don't you?"

Kozo nodded, a huge grin on his face, "The Committee and the Angels are fucked. Anyone who threatens your family might just as well commit suicide, and save themselves the trouble of having you track them down. And your son can handle the Angles."

"But if they kill themselves, then I can't have the fun of doing it for them."

"It's good to have you back old friend." Kozo said as he bowed.

ooo000OOO000ooo

That night saw a special celebration at the Ikari residence, as they all wanted to commemorate the fact that Rei would be going on the family trip. Shinji also announced that he wanted to invite two of his classmates, just so they wouldn't be bored sitting around.

Misato asked, "Is it those two that tried to get themselves killed?"

Shinji laughed, "Yeah, the same two. They really appreciated me pulling strings to get them out of trouble, so we became friends."

They all chuckled at the joke, and Shinji continued, "Kensuke also likes selling hentai around school for me. I let him keep the proceeds, and I think he splits it with Toji for protection." He grinned wickedly. "Which reminds me. They asked me if I could get any good photos for them to sell. For a decent compensation, of course."

"Are these photos going to appear on your web site?" Maya asked, a playful hint in her voice.

Shinji rubbed his chin, pretending to think, "Maybe, if you want them to. And if you don't want to do it at all, that's fine too. I told them I would ask, not perform miracles."

Rei blushed prettily, "If you want to Shinji I have no problems with it." She started slipping out of her robe.

"Hold it!" Shinji said forcefully, but sweetly, "I don't feel like going to jail as of right now. It would kinda put a damper on my plans. And posting naked pictures of you anywhere right now might just do that."

He saw the reaction in her eyes and drew her into a hug, "It's not that I don't want to Rei, but some people have problems with it. So until that changes, I can just keep them for myself."

"I would like that." Rei said.

Ritsuko smiled, "It sounds like a good way to make some quick cash. And who knows, it might be fun."

"Sure it will be!" Maya squealed.

"Why not." Misato sighed.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Minako Osigawa looked at the information packet that had appeared on her desk some time during the night. She had been working at the Tokyo Review for five years, digging up dirt on all sorts of people, much to their annoyance. She had single handedly ruined the careers of seven city council members in Tokyo-2 and was currently working on her next great project, the destruction of one Shinji Ikari.

She had to admit that the kid was doing a good job dealing with the aliens, but she was a firm believer that everyone had a personal flaw that should come to light.

Minako didn't mind him getting some fame for his battles, just the whole 'walks on water' thing had always worried her. The ones that can't do wrong are usually the same ones doing the most of it.

The information she had received suggested just that, including photos and descriptions of a decadent sex group that had grown up around the young pilot. His status as an Emancipated Youth gave him the right to screw with any legally available woman he pleased. That didn't mean that the fact that he had three such women wasn't turning her stomach. The clincher was his fellow pilot, Rei Ayanami, who appeared to be part of the same orgy.

Now she had all the information she needed to go after this sick little shit and have him put away for a long time.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Bernard Yamamoto was a third generation Japanese/American whose family had been living in the central part of Japan when Second Impact happened. He had been nineteen at the time and so had been called to serve his fracturing country in time of need. He had seen things during those first two years that had scarred him for life, showing him the truth of human nature. By some favor of the gods he had survived the madness, and when things calmed down enough he got out of the service.

He then moved to the still fledgling Tokyo-2 and started the Tokyo Review, believing that the people deserved to know about the horrors of the world. But over the years his zealot spirit had calmed, recognizing the facts of life. Now the situation with the aliens had cropped up and all that he wanted was to still be in business when he reached retirement age and could pass the company to one of his children that showed an aptitude for journalism.

This morning that possibility seemed to be getting slimmer with every line of the expose piece he was reading from his problem child reporter. Admittedly Minako was a good hand at digging up dirt about prominent public figures, helping sales immensely with her controversial stories.

This time she had simply chosen the wrong target for her pen. "Do you honestly think I'm gonna print this?" He asked, slapping the pages across his palm.

Osigawa looked affronted, and snapped, "Why shouldn't you? I have pictures of this disgusting situation, and the public has a right to know about their 'hero'."

Bernard pinched the bridge of his nose, "Even If I did agree with you, I still wouldn't print this. You don't seem to understand that this is not pre-impact Japan anymore. Used to be, the government tried not to let its hand show in the papers. But today everything flows through the state, and NERV is the state. At least here in Japan."

"I can't believe that they would condone this kind of activity, even by their golden boy."

"He is the defender of the world." Yamamoto began in an exasperated tone.

"So that gives him special privilege?" Minako interrupted.

"Yes it does." He held up his hand to stop the expected retort. "It may be true that NERV has more pilots and robots to fight with, but we haven't seen them. And this kid is really good at battling the enemy. In all of his battles we have managed to have only three casualties, and none of those fatalities. The Suzuhara girl was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and suffered some major injuries. I might point out that this was before the Evangelion even launched."

"And what about those other two?" Minako asked, trying to reclaim control of the conversation.

The owner laughed coldly, "You mean her older brother and his best friend. If they hadn't snuck out of the shelter they wouldn't have been hurt. I even heard a rumor that Shinji Ikari went out of his way to get them out of trouble."

"That doesn't give him the right to corrupt innocent girls. Or to hoard so many women just for himself."

Bernard raised an eyebrow, "Jealous are you? For all we know they went to him. But who is screwing Shinji Ikari is besides the point. NERV has already made it quite clear to the police that their pilots are untouchable, and I personally support that position."

"How can you support an elitist class like that?" Minako raged, jumping to her feet.

"Because I enjoy breathing." Yamamoto said calmly, deflating the young reporter. "That kid is doing something only he can do. From what I've heard it takes a specific kind of mind to pilot one of those things, and only about one in nine hundred million people have it. That means maybe a handful of pilots in the whole world. He might as well be a god with what he could demand for his services. As it is he is a hero of legendary status, who has developed quite a fan following."

Osigawa crumpled into her chair, knowing that the 'Man' had won in this office, "I'll still write it. Even if I have to post it to the net. I'm going to get the truth out there where everyone can see it."

Her boss put a cigarette between his lips and made a show of lighting it. As he finished exhaling the calming smoke he spoke, "Go right ahead, I can't stop you, but I can give you a good reason why that won't work."

"What rabbit will Ikari use to stop this one?"

"I doubt he'll even know. NERV was the ones who reestablished the internet after Second Impact, since most of it was destroyed by the flooding. They basically allowed the rest of us access to their peripheral network, keeping the core firmly locked away. But every bit of information goes through the MAGI computers around the world."

"They can't track every bit that passes over the net, it would take too much." Minako said, her tone that of a child trying to tell her parents that magic still existed.

Bernard laughed sourly, "I wouldn't be so sure about that. But in this case it will come to their attention. You intend to write a very pointed article about a prominent member of their organization. It will get flagged from the start, and then they'll either delete it or isolate it so no one else sees it. You are stuck between a rock and a hard place"

He took another drag and then continued, "On the one hand you have your stiff necked journalistic zeal. On the other is the establishment that is trying to cast this whole war in the best light, mainly to keep on getting support and there by funding. I just don't want to see you get hurt by this."

"What can they do to me?" She said, a hint of fear in her words.

"They could throw you in a cell and forget about you for a couple years. Or they could manufacture evidence to discredit you. The option I like the least is that they could arrange an accident to make sure you shut up."

"You mean kill me?"

"Why go that far? Just scare the hell out of you. But if you have any doubts, here's a little tid bit to chew on. They recently reduced their own security force. Rumor has it that they were plants for some other group that no one knows about, trust me I tried to find out. Some of them ended up under the last Angel when it fell. They weren't listed on the causality roles because they were supposed to be there, to get killed. If they are willing to do that to their own employees, what do you think will stop them from taking one reporter out of the pecking order."

"How do you know so much boss? It sounds like you have someone on the inside." A glimmer of hope flashed in her eyes as she saw a possible way to circumvent the blocks in her way.

"My distant cousin is a low level tech with Section 2. And before you ask, no she will not help you. She happens to like Shinji and thinks he deserves whatever happiness he can find. She is just hoping that her boyfriend doesn't get any ideas from the kid's example."

He could almost swear to hearing the gears churning in the woman's head as she tried to find one more way not to have to fold. Finally she sighed, "I guess that I'm just fucked on this one."

"Look kid. I know you are one of the main reasons I'm looking at early retirement. You have a hell of a nose for dirty little secrets. But this is one fight you just can't win."

"Thanks for the concern boss. Maybe you're right, I should just let it go. There's always another story to write." She stood and bowed before turning and exited the room.

As he sat there finishing his cigarette, Bernard Yamamoto thought to himself, 'I'm gonna miss her. But I did everything in my power to stop her. Can't save a fool from their chosen brand of foolishness.' He ground the butt out in his ashtray and returned to the letter he had been reading.

ooo000OOO000ooo

The next morning Shinji was still trying to work through the convoluted way to make contact with one of the names on the list of agents he had received. The real problem was just trying to get a face to face with one of them. Given his suspicion about this whole plan he was not willing to hand over half a month's salary to just any stranger based on the recommendation of his father.

He sent one last message, using the ciphers provided, and shut down his laptop. Stretching his back he twisted his wrist and checked the time. Somehow the morning had slipped past him, leaving him about fifteen minutes before lunch.

Heading out into the hallway outside the room he had set aside as his office, not liking the cramped space used by the previous owner, the smell of something good reached his nose. The flavor promised by the vapors was a combination of savory and spicy. He thought, 'It's Misato and Ritsuko's turn today. Wonder what the good captain is going to poison us with?'

They had split the chores between them on a rotating schedule, no one willing to accept Misato's suggestion of Rock-Paper-Scissors as a way to decide. That meant that Maya was on laundry and vacuuming today, with Shinji and Rei taking care of cleaning up after the meals.

Tomorrow would be Shinji and Misato cooking, Ritsuko on laundry and vacuuming, and Rei and Maya on cleanup. Luckily they were able to close off most of the large house, reducing the floor space to one bedroom, the main hallway, and the living room.

Also this put the two most skilled cooks on with the one most likely to kill them all, or at least their taste buds, allowing them to rein her in when needed. The other minor chores also rotated in the reverse order, meaning that no one got the exact same things to do every cycle and it kept them from lumping too much on any one person.

He walked past the two youngest members of his family, kissing each in turn, and sat down at his usual spot around the table. They had decided to use the smaller dining room for all meals, given its intimacy. The larger, western style, dining area could then be reserved for when they had guests.

The two older women came in carrying trays laden with food, Misato with a smaller one but also toting a tea kettle. They set the food down and began passing plates around to all the settings. Then Ritsuko poured the tea as Misato left to get something else. She returned in time to see Akagi sharing a quick kiss with Shinji before taking her place. Katsuragi repeated the greeting before handing her long time friend a beer and taking her own place.

Then began his favorite game, guess who did which dish. Shinji quickly decided that the soup had been Misato's, as well as the egg rolls. Then he added the rice to her list as well, not knowing how she had gotten the grains to accept that much flavor.

The rest of the dishes he decided were prepared by Ritsuko, given their lack of chemical heat. As the meal came to a close he looked at the two that had prepared it and smiled warmly, "Thank you ladies, it was excellent. I would like to compare notes with you some time, Misato, on flavoring rice like that. I didn't know it could be done."

Misato returned the smile and said, "I found one of my mother's old cook books in storage yesterday and decided to try out a few things."

With the meal finished the three not on clean up made their way to the living room to entertain themselves while they waited on the other two. Misato flipped channels as she sipped the leftovers of her beer from dinner. She reflected, as she settled on a sit-com, that it was nice not to have to deal with the after effects of drinking herself into unconsciousness anymore. She woke up before the first cup of coffee, instead of after half of her first beer, she didn't have that ever present cotton taste in her mouth, and she found that her sense of taste was returning as well.

Ritsuko went through some of the paperwork she had been forced to bring home. She hated doing that now, feeling that it somehow intruded on all of them. This place had turned into their private sanctuary, free from the concerns of the real world, where they could all just relax. But unfortunately the real world would not let her get caught up enough to just leave it at the office.

Maya was busy using one of the new tablets that Shinji had bought so they could save the step of having to scan everything and do touch ups afterward. This allowed them to save about twenty percent on the overall time they had to put in working on one piece before it was ready.

Fifteen minutes later Rei and Shinji entered the room, signaling the beginning of the evenings true entertainment. Misato turned the TV off, Maya saved her work and set the pad aside and Ritsuko placed her clipboard on the side table. They all gathered around the coffee table and Shinji began shuffling the cards as Rei started collecting money and passing around chips.

"Is everyone ready?" Shinji asked, his hands poised to start dealing. All the women nodded and he said, "Then it's five card draw, aces and deuces."

ooo000OOO000ooo

The next afternoon Shinji dropped Rei off at the house after school before leaving on an errand. What he did not notice was a tail car passing him while he kissed Rei passionately and picking up the chase three blocks away. He finally made the car after it had followed him through three turns. Then he relaxed as a black sedan pulled up behind it. 'Let Section 2 handle the idiot. Following so obviously.' He thought as he gunned the throttle through the next intersection and was rewarded by another black car pulling out to trap his pursuer.

He arrived at the meeting place earlier than he had intended to, but figured that there was no helping that. He parked his bike one warehouse over from his rendezvous point, a warehouse loading dock deep in the industrial section of town.

As he walked the distance he triggered a device in his pocket, blocking any electronic transmission for a quarter mile in any direction. He had been surprised when the package arrived from his father, including everything a good spy should have. The shielded recorder was safely tucked in his shirt pocket and the 9mm was in his belt, under his light jacket, in the back. He hadn't had much time to practice with the weapon but the range master had taught him enough to put the bullet in the right target.

When he rounded the last corner he saw a shadow shift under one of the large pillars that supported the overhang. Shinji took his hands out of his pockets and let them hang loosely while he made his approach.

When he got to fifteen feet from the contact he heard a voice with a mixed German-Irish accent say, "That's far enough Mr. Ikari."

Shinji stopped and smiled, "Call me Shinji, my father is Mr. Ikari. Mr. Johnson I presume." The movie cliché was almost enough to gag him, but nothing more appropriate came to mind.

"Yes. I hear that you would like me to look into the activities of a certain person. Possibly even interfere with his actions."

"If my information is accurate this person is a member of Seele. Should you find this to be correct I would like you to cause an immediate end to his pulmonary activities. But only if he is a member of the committee itself. It does no good to neutralize an underling." Shinji could feel the man across from him smile. It was unsettling.

"The agreed upon amount. Half now. Half if he deserves to be interfered with. If not, I will report back and arrange another meeting. Do we have a deal?"

"I think we can do business." Shinji said as he reached into his pocket slowly and withdrew an envelope. He tossed it over and turned to walk away. "I look forward to us doing business in the future."

"As do I Shinji." The man said as he withdrew deeper into the shadows of the building.

ooo000OOO000ooo

That night in a holding cell deep within NERV headquarters Minako Osigawa sat alone. She was sure that this was the end, but if it was she would at least expose this corrupt organization for all it was worth. She had placed a timed release message on her three websites, set to go off if she didn't remove it within three more hours. She had already been sitting for most of the night without so much as a laugh from the guards.

She sat bolt upright and shielded her eyes as the door was flung open and light streamed into the previously darkened room. As her eyes adjusted she could make out the outline of a tall figure standing in the doorway.

Minako had seen some of the old interviews with the current commander of NERV, and now that voice was sending chills down her back. "Would you like to talk now?"

"You can't hold me like this." She spluttered impotently. "I have rights."

"No. Actually you don't. You were caught committing espionage against NERV in our fortress city. I could have you shot for treason."

She could tell he was smiling at the thought, and hung her head as she said, "I didn't mean any harm. I was just doing my job."

"Then let's see if we can let you keep doing it." She looked up to see Gendo Ikari holding his hand out to help her up.

Osigawa allowed him to lift her to her feet, surprised by the strength held in the small frame. He then led her out into the adjoining room and settled her into a chair. Then Gendo took the seat opposite and steepled his hands before his face, hiding the minute grin that threatened to burst forth.

The silence grew uncomfortable very quickly and soon the journalist couldn't take it anymore. "Did you mean what you said about letting me go?"

"That depends on what your true intentions are Miss Osigawa. We can't have a potential threat to our pilots roaming free. But if you are just, as you said, doing your job, then I see no reason to hinder you." The commander said.

"But." She paused to regain control of her voice. "But I am openly criticizing many high level members of your organization, doesn't that bother you?"

"Not at all. We are not a collection of squabbling, elected officials. Everyone here is the best person for their job, and they choose to be here. All that you can do is attempt to sway public opinion against their only hope of surviving this war."

Ikari's absolutely calm voice was getting to her, making Minako think about what she was trying to do. A twinge of shame shot through her chest as she remembered everything her boss had told her. "I wanted to see if I could get an interview with Pilot Ikari, maybe help to clear up any misunderstandings there might be."

A laptop was placed on the desk and the lid opened. The display showed her newest project, a site denouncing Shinji as the leader of an illegal sex cult. Gendo let his smile surface behind his hands at the recognition on the young woman's face. "Is that so? Then why did you create this site, which we have been keeping isolated since it was created. And why did you leave a message claiming that we had killed you, that has also been neutralized?"

She let her face fall again, accepting her fate. 'At least a bullet will be quick.' She thought.

"Well you're in luck. My son has agreed to an interview, along with the rest of his 'harem' as you called them. He is much more lenient than I would have been, but then he is a kinder man than I am as well." Gendo had to exert every last bit of control he had to keep from giggling maniacally at the expression on his 'guest's' face.

The emotions warred within Minako, quickly shifting between relief, excitement, and finally horror. She began to understand how close she had come to death, and which Ikari had kept the trigger from being squeezed. "Thank you, Commander Ikari."

"Thank my son. You will be escorted back to the surface, where your car is waiting. Then you should make haste to Shinji's residence, they are expecting you for breakfast." He nodded and two agents stepped forward to take charge of the reporter. "Next time I would suggest you check your facts before attacking an Ikari."

She bowed deeply and then left the room.

Gendo waited a full minute before he turned to the remaining Section-2 agents and cracked a huge grin. They could hardly believe their eyes as their boss dissolved into suppressed giggles, finally letting himself go entirely as he pounded on the table and held his side.

They looked at each other and then joined Gendo in laughing hysterically at the scene that had just been perpetrated for the benefit of the young man who held the fate of the planet in his hand. Shinji had specifically requested that they give her the Nth degree before letting her come to his home for a pleasant meal and a chat.

Gendo finally regained enough composure to catch his breath, "My son certainly does know how to manipulate perceptions. That's the second time he has used people's fear of us to make himself come out as the hero."

"It's odd." One of the agents said, "How readily people will believe that we would kill them for the smallest infraction."

"It is an image we have carefully cultivated to keep the frequency of such transgressions to a minimum." Gendo sobered and stood. "I think we should go over the new recruits and see which ones are worth keeping."

The head of Section-2 nodded and the pair followed Ikari from the room. That whole day Gendo had a very proud smirk on his face, remembering his part in the most fun he had been involved with in years.

ooo000OOO000ooo

With her hands shaking Minako Osigawa pulled the chain on the old fashioned door bell and was surprised by the door sliding open almost immediately. Before her stood a young boy with a physique that would have made Adonis proud, his short hair having that just crawled out of bed look. She could see what attracted women to his thinly covered body until she reached his eyes. Those eyes that looked like bottomless pits of hope and despair. He was looking right through her, making her feel naked before him.

Shinji smiled at the reporter's reaction and introduced himself, "Welcome to our home Miss Osigawa. We were just about to have breakfast if you would care to join us."

Minako bowed and let her heartbeat slow before answering, "Thank you Mr. Ikari." The honorific being used on such a young man somehow didn't feel wrong with this one. "I would like to join you, if I'm not intruding."

"Not at all." He said as he swept an arm to indicate she should enter. "In fact, we have been expecting you."

She stepped in and was surprised to find wall to wall carpet running all the way to the door. Shinji saw her pause as if to take her shoes off and said, "The house used to be a bed and breakfast, so taking one's shoes off outside your room would have been rude. It usually takes about a week to begin to break the habit, but we got used to it."

"I see." She replied, not sure what else to say.

Shinji led her through a short hallway and into another, which turned into another and finally exited into a formal, western style dining room. The table looked like it could handle thirty diners comfortably and still have enough room in the middle for food sufficient to feed an army. At the moment there were six place settings at one end of the table with two attractive women sitting there.

Shinji walked to the chair at the right of the head and pulled it out for her. She took her offered seat and felt it gently tap the back of her thighs before she sat delicately into it. Then Shinji left, only to return a moment later with a tea tray, followed by one middle aged woman and a girl of about his age.

Minako recognized the woman as Ritsuko Akagi, NERV's chief medic and researcher, and the girl as Rei Ayanami, the other Japanese pilot. The woman sitting on her right was Maya Ibuki, a mid-level employee, with Misato Katsuragi, chief tactical officer, on her right. All in all it was most of the senior staff for the organization.

Shinji set the tray down and then held the chairs for the other two women, each in turn. With all of his family and guests seated he took the chair at the head and slid into it gracefully. As Rei and Ritsuko began serving the meal he turned to Minako and asked, "So what brings you to Tokyo-3 this morning?"

"I was trying to gather information on your 'group' yesterday and was perceived as a threat by some of the agents assigned to watch over you." She said, accepting a cup of tea from Maya.

The male pilot chuckled, "So that was you last night. They are a little protective of me around here, comes with the territory. But why didn't you just ask? Would have saved you a night in the cells."

"I was convinced that you would refuse me. You seem to belong to a pretty secretive organization." She said.

Shinji and Misato had already started eating so Ritsuko took up the gauntlet, "NERV is quiet secretive, but their are reasons for that. On the other hand the commander tries to stay out of personal lives, as much as is possible. It also didn't help that you labeled us before you got all the facts."

"What facts?" Minako asked, trying to get what she could before they started lying to her.

Maya had a clear chance here, so she took it. "That everyone at this table is legally an adult. Shinji gained his emancipation shortly after coming here and Rei got her's last week. That makes some of what you wrote about us slander, and you should know the penalties for that these days."

Osigawa was shocked into silence as her entire story fell apart. Misato decided to take pity on the young woman, "We really aren't stupid. Well, they aren't." She said in response to the glare she was getting from Akagi. "And those kids over there have the whole weight of the world resting on them. Rei was raised knowing that she's a pilot, so she grew up a lot faster than was absolutely necessary. But Shinji had the responsibility thrust on him at the last minute, literally. The fact that he was willing to do it at all shows how brave he was, and his maturity is demonstrated by his continuing to pilot. If he was just like any other kid he would have gone running into the night after the first battle."

"You don't know how close I was before that battle. Though it would have been more like storming off after I laid my dad flat." He said.

"What is that all about?" The journalist asked, free forming now that her plan was shot to pieces.

Rei took this moment to speak, her voice soft but confident, "Ten years ago Shinji's mother died during an accident. Commander Ikari went into a deep state of depression and sent Shinji to be raised by Yui's sister and her husband. This caused a great rift between them and, eventually, a hatred grew in the young Shinji's heart."

She looked at Shinji and asked with her eyes if he wished to pick it up from there. He nodded, "I was just starting to find my place in my aunt and uncle's home when Gendo sent for me. Luckily I was pissed off enough to come, mainly because I wanted some answers. But when I got here he decided to spring the whole Evangelion thing on me, forcing me to chose between fighting and letting the world burn. Believe it or not, it was a hard choice, and in the end I chose the latter."

Minako gasped, "But then why are we sitting here having breakfast?"

Maya took it this time, "Because his father had a trump card. He wheeled Rei out, still injured from a recently botched activation test, and made Shinji chose which one would pilot. It would probably have killed her to do it, but she was determined. In the end our hero decided to get over himself and pilot, which inevitably led to this day." She turned to Shinji and grinned, "I managed to get all that from the tape, but what was with the blood oath?"

Shinji grinned hugely, "I was the new kid in town, and the old man needed to understand my motivation. I wasn't doing it for him, or even for the world, but for one girl that was in pain."

Minako couldn't help herself and sniffled, "That's so romantic."

"Yeah." Ritsuko said. "Everyone talks about love as being willing to die for another. But true love is being willing to kill for another. Murder is so much more damaging than death, and that distinction shows how much he is committed to this household. And we are just as committed to him and each other."

Misato lowered her coffee cup and smiled, "This is a safe haven where the problems of the outside world are lessened. Here we can find peace and acceptance, setting down our burdens for a time."

"I'm sorry I disrupted that then. It was truly foolish of me claiming to know what was going on here before I understood the people who live here." Minako said, hanging her head in shame.

"That's okay Miss Osigawa." Shinji said. "To the outside world we do appear to be a 'sex cult' as you said. But that is because most of them do not know the true purpose of a harem. It isn't about the sex."

"Since when?" Ritsuko asked playfully.

"Okay. The sex is great, or at least I have yet to hear any complaints. But the real function is support for each other. We are here for each other, no matter what our short comings are." Shinji said.

"If you have any, I have yet to find them." Maya teased.

"Haven't had enough school for my English grades to come in yet. By the gods, I hate that subject." Shinji said, rubbing his temples at the memories of his lessons.

"I know what you mean." The journalist said. "That is one truly screwed up language, the only good thing to come out of Second Impact was that it took that bastard language down a few notches." She changed tracks and asked, "Exactly what pantheon do you follow?"

Shinji answered, not missing a beat, "Norse. Especially Loki."

Ritsuko laughed, "The trickster of the gods. That so fits, especially after that last battle."

They all laughed as the conversation continued to roam farther away from its origin, evolving organically in the close knit family environment.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Than night, at sea, on the observation deck of the super aircraft carrier Over The Rainbow, a girl with long red hair stood on the lowest bar of the guard rail and looked out at the glassy water. The flowing strands of crimson were pulled back loosely with her A-10 clips firmly attached on top. Her shorts and bikini top were not having the desired effect on her guardian.

"Come on Kaji!" She whined loudly, "Why won't you?"

Ryoji pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "I told you Asuka. You are way to young for me. And besides, I'm supposed to be escorting you to Japan safe and sound. I don't think that includes taking advantage of you."

"It's only taking advantage of me if I don't want it." She purred in what she hoped was a seductive tone.

"Asuka, you may think you want it. But soon you'll meet a boy your own age who you'll like, and then you will be happy that I was so stubborn on this point." Kaji said, totally ignoring the girl's advances.

"Oh, you mean like the third child. I heard that he's just a spineless wimp who pilots because of some trick his father pulled on him." She said in a matter of fact tone.

"Then you're behind the times. He pilots because he chose to. The plan the commander set up to trap him backfired on both of them, and he ended up with the smartest and fiercest fighter he could have wished for. It also makes Shinji harder to manipulate. Whatever can be said about Shinji Ikari, it is not that he is spineless." The agent corrected.

"We'll see about that. I'll judge for myself when we get to Japan tomorrow."

"You may not have to wait that long, not that a little patience would kill you. The word is that a delegation from Tokyo-3 will be arriving in the morning. Both of the other pilots are suppose to be with them."

"Why are they coming here if we'll be there tomorrow night?"

"Don't ask me kid. All I know is what leaks down the vine these days."

"Huh?" Asuka said, looking puzzled.

Kaji shrugged. "Sorry. Older Spy culture reference. Just go to bed and try to get some sleep. Before you know it they'll be here." He stood and started toward the passenger quarters.

"Will you tuck me in?" She asked coyly.

"No." He said flatly.

The redhead harrumphed and sped off ahead of the older man.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Here it is, the longest chapter yet. It's a bit of a switch, dealing with the politics of 2015. Hope you enjoy it.

Thanks to my wife for pre-reading for me.


	11. Chapter 11: Fire and Ice

Hentai Shinji Chapter 11: Fire and Ice

The next morning dawned bright and clear, casting a cheerful glow on the whole of Tokyo-3. This cheer was mirrored within the home of Shinji Ikari and company. They had all awoken an hour before the sky even started the gentle transition from the velvety blue-black of night to the brilliant sky-blue of day. During this time they had all enjoyed each other's warm companionship, and even managed to get a bath before heading off to NERV headquarters. Rei and Shinji were in the lead, not having to avoid much traffic during the early hours, with Maya and Ritsuko riding just behind, matching them move for move. A slightly farther distance was Misato in her car, keeping pace with a good safety margin. Her driving had calmed slightly since she had joined the loving embrace of the Ikari family, becoming both more considerate and less erratic. She blamed this totally on Shinji's good influence, as now she wanted to be sure that not only did she get to go home to her loved ones, but that every other person on the road got to as well.

The convoy neared the building where they would be departing from and slowed to pull through the gate in the fence surrounding the structure. Once inside the parking area they quickly pulled into the reserved spaces and powered down their vehicles.

Removing his helmet, Shinji said, "Misato, could you please have them pack one of my plug suits in with the other gear?"

The head of operations looked at him for a moment before deciding to ask the obvious question, "Are you expecting us to have trouble out there?"

He frowned, not wanting to cause any of them to worry, "Just a precaution. The Angel is still out there, but something about its AT field has changed. Like the frequency just shot up from a dull hum to an annoying whine. I just want to be prepared if it decides to get frisky."

"No prob." Misato said as she pulled out her phone and hit a speed dial.

Shinji helped Rei dismount and then followed and noticed the two young men being hassled by the guards at the gate. He walked over and greeted them, "Hey Kensuke, Toji. What took you so long?"

Aida checked his watch with a panicked expression on his face, "You did say 7:30, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I was just pulling your leg to watch your reaction." Shinji said with a friendly laugh.

Toji was craning to see the other side of the lot as they walked toward the building. "I thought you said Misato would be here?"

"When are you going to realize that Hikari likes you?" Shinji answered.

"I know she does. I noticed the stuff you were talking about. But how do I make a move without looking like an idiot? Especially if you're wrong and all those glances just mean that she's keeping a closer eye on me."

The pilot sighed in exasperation, "Just make the move already. If you don't she might get grabbed up by some other guy. And stop drooling over other girls. I swear you're as bad as Kensuke is about anything with more than a hundred moving parts."

Shinji rounded on his other friend and said, "On that note, try to keep the camera in your pants today. This is supposed to be a fun trip to help us escape the between-battle boredom of this place, and I don't want to be chasing you while you have a joy-gasm over every little thing."

Aida became slightly flustered, "Okay, Mom. I'll behave myself."

Shinji smiled at his friend and fished a disc out of his pocket. Tossing it to his friend he said. "Play this on your camera and see if that can keep you occupied."

The young geek swapped the disc in said device with the other and put the view finder to his eye. His eyes grew wide as he slowly scrolled through the content. After several seconds he lowered the camera and bowed deeply to his friend. "I'm not worthy to be known as your friend. Please teach me, sensei."

Shinji chuckled as Suzuhara looked confused, wondering what could be so shocking to have his long time friend behaving so strangely.

Finally Misato called from the door of the squat complex, "Are you three coming or are we going to have to send the chopper back for you."

Shinji smirked, "I think Kensuke is, but that's beside the point." He turned to his friends and said. "Race ya."

The three sped for the door that Misato was holding open for them.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Once the helicopter leveled off the pilot signaled that they could take their restraints off and move around. Shinji hit the button and stretched as the straps pulled away. "How long until we get there? I think I need a bit of a nap."

Maya patted her lap and said, "You can lay here for the three hours until we reach the convoy."

He stretched out and then curled toward her, placing his nose directly in the path of her scent as it gently lulled him to sleep.

The two boys sitting across from them watched in astonishment as their idol lounged in the lap of an attractive young woman. Just as Shinji's breathing leveled off into the slow rhythm of sleep Misato grinned, saying playfully, "I think we wore him out this morning. I still can't believe he was able to keep it up for so long."

Ritsuko smiled dreamily, and replied in the same tone, "He certainly does seem to have a great deal of energy since the last battle. What a nice side effect." She sobered almost instantly and continued, "But he is still human, and as such, requires the same things the rest of us do, including sleep. I doubt anything could crack his mind, not with what he's seen, but sleep deprivation might come close."

Misato looked thoughtful for a moment and then snapped her fingers, "Wasn't there some unveiling we were supposed to attend this week?"

"You mean the Jet Alone project?" Ritsuko asked. Misato nodded and the chief scientist continued, "The commander reassigned it to Hyuga and Aoba."

"I was wondering where they were," Maya said. "Why do you figure they went instead of you two?"

"Because the commander is unconcerned with the whole project. Until they can demonstrate the ability to project an AT Field they are not going to be a threat to our funding." Ritsuko answered.

Rei sighed, "Especially with our man trouncing the Angels so soundly. But I doubt they will ever find a mechanical means to defeat the enemy. The Eva is the only true weapon."

"That still means that you two will have to keep fighting. I hate this damn war." Misato spat.

"If this had never happened, we would never have gotten together. So I can't hate the war." Rei said serenely. "I am not saying that I am happy about it. But I would not change it. Not for anything."

Silence stretched out between them as the sentiment was shared by each member of the family.

Finally, no longer able to stand the lack of distraction, Kensuke drew his camera out again and put the view finder to his eye once more. His face went slack quickly, as his cheeks flushed.

After ten minutes he lowered the device and turned to his best friend. He said quietly, "You know, we should do something special for Shinji when we get back."

Toji whispered back, "Okay. But what?"

"I have an idea, but it will take some doing." Aida leaned in closer and began divulging the details of his plan.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Asuka was waiting impatiently as the military heavy lift helicopter circled once to match course and speed with the convoy. She scoffed and said, "So here comes the third child. Now I'll get to see what's so special about him."

"Take it easy Asuka." Kaji said from behind her. "If you go in there all guns blazing it will only alienate them, and you need to get along with these people. After all, you will be working with them."

"Then I'll show them what a real Eva pilot can do." She said arrogantly, heading down the ladder as the helo settled on its landing gear.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji roused as Maya gently tapped his nose, saying, "Time to get up sleepy head."

Shinji grinned, and said "Nah, I'm comfy." as he wrapped his right arm around her and buried his face in her stomach.

Maya giggled as she was tickled by the action, enjoying the physical contact in both a platonic and non-platonic manner. The confusion of different forms of the same emotion caused her to shudder sensually. As she recovered she said, "Please stop that Shinji, or I might have to jump you right here. And I don't think these benches are really wide enough for it."

He released her and sat up, keeping his grin in place. The young pilot reached for the door handle and slid the well balanced piece of bullet proof metal and plexiglas out of the way. He then hopped down and turned to help the women out.

As Toji clambered out his precariously perched ball cap got caught by a gust of wind and was blown down the length of the vessel. He went chasing after it. Stumbling, he cursed the offending piece of fabric until it came to a stop, having reached an obstruction. The petite foot that had blocked the path of the article of clothing lifted up and ground the cap into the deck.

The young jock ran over and started pulling on the cap, with Shinji and Kensuke walking up behind. Kensuke was busy changing discs in his camcorder so he could grab some footage of the ponderous machines around him. Shinji on the other hand was concentrating on the red haired girl, whom he recognized from her picture as Asuka Langley Soryu, the second child and pilot of Unit-02. Just as he expected, a stray burst of wind lifted the girl's sundress almost over her head, giving all three boys and most of the deck crew a perfect view of shapely legs and slender hips, covered in matching yellow panties.

Also as expected, the girl exploding into a nearly blind rage at the three boys for accidently seeing her nether regions. She quickly swung her open palm and connected with Toji's face, issuing a gunshot like report across the smooth surface, causing many heads to turn. A second loud crack was heard as she repeated the attack on Aida. She then drew back for a third strike and started the swing.

To everyone's astonishment Shinji's hand appeared six inches from his face, stopping Asuka's arm cold in a vice like grip. He smiled at her and loosened his hold slightly, as if to release her. Then he twisted the girl's arm, causing her to spin, as he moved up behind her. Half a second later her right hand was clutching the back of her dress with Shinji's right arm around her waist, hand resting gently on he firm abdomen, pinning her free arm to her side. He leaned in to whisper, "One. If you don't want everyone to know what underwear you are wearing, don't put on a sundress and go out on a windy deck."

Asuka was shocked into silence by the suddenness of the role reversal as he continued. "Two. If you are stupid enough to wear the aforementioned article of clothing, don't get pissed at guys who do see your panties."

She began squirming, trying to free herself from the hold so expertly executed against her. Shinji squeezed her stomach and pushed her away, causing his hand to slide sensuously across her thinly covered skin as she spun away from him. He timed the release of her hand carefully, canceling most of her momentum with the slight pull. In the end, Asuka had returned to her previous position just as another gust came up from behind her, repeating the show for all concerned. She clutched her skirt, forcing it down as Shinji spoke once more, "Three. Don't pick a fight with random people, or one day you'll meet someone as good as I am, but not quite so forgiving."

He turned to rejoin his family, leaving Asuka to fume. The enraged girl called out, "Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you touch me? I'll have you locked up for assaulting an Eva pilot!"

Shinji glanced over his shoulder, saying, "Good luck on that last part. I'm Shinji Ikari." The only male pilot walked up to the women he had come to love, and wrapped an arm each around the waist of Maya and Misato. Maya in turn caught Ritsuko with Misato bringing Rei in close. The tableau then walked toward the command tower, leaving a spoiled, red haired brat standing with her mouth open, wide.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Kaji leaned against one of the stations laughing, clutching his side to help with the pain there. The rest of the bridge crew stared on in disbelief as a hardened agent gave such an unseemly display of humor at the scene that had played out on the flight deck.

Finally the operative recovered enough to speak, "I love it. That little tart finally got what she deserved, and from him of all people."

The admiral sitting in the command chair cleared his throat, "If you're done performing percussive maintenance of the equipment, would you please share the joke with the rest of us."

Ryoji straightened, instantly back in his persona, "Of course sir. That young man is Shinji Ikari, the third child. He just told Asuka a few of the facts of reality, all without doing any real damage. Just her pride was hurt."

The XO spoke up, "He's the only one that could do that without being looking for a job tomorrow."

"Nonsense," Kaji retorted, "Any of you could have stood up to her without having any chance of reprisal. It's just that you assumed the same thing everyone else has, and handle her with kid gloves."

The Admiral spluttered, "You mean to tell me that she doesn't have any sort of protection or authority."

"Not past making sure that she is always available to pilot. And the truly ironic part is that the one to finally stand up to her petulant behavior was the sixteen year old that she was thoroughly convinced was spineless." The agent answered.

The conversation was cut short by the appearance of the entourage that had departed the flight deck in the doorway leading from the open observation deck.

Misato frowned at the presence of her ex-boyfriend standing there looking as disheveled as always. She came to attention and saluted the grey haired officer, "Captain Misato Katsuragi, permission to board sir?"

The old man returned the salute and said, "Granted Captain. But let me ask, what brings you out to my fine ship this day?"

"Admiral, we have come to deliver the necessary components, should Unit-02 need to be activated." The tactical officer answered.

"I appreciate the gesture, but I don't really see the point. We have the entire Pacific Fleet here, and all the fire power that goes with it. What good is that overgrown doll going to be against anything that can withstand that kind of punishment?" The commander asked, trying not to sound condescending.

Shinji stepped forward and bowed, "Sir. I am Shinji Ikari, designated pilot of Unit-01, and I understand your confidence. But the arsenal at your command is not effective against an Angel, as it possesses a defensive technology that can only be neutralized by an Eva at close range."

The old man considered the child before him, noting his confident appearance, respectful tone, and mildly submissive stature. No matter how he tried, he could not find fault with any of it. And the fact that this information simply confirmed what he had already suspected made him more inclined to believe the youth. "Very well, I will have the cables connected to the reactor and the cargo ship with Unit-02 maneuvered alongside." He then frowned, "I just hope we don't need them way out here."

ooo000OOO000ooo

After the brief meeting with the command staff the NERV personnel adjourned to the mess hall, several decks below. Upon seeing the small elevator available for transit Shinji elected to take the stairs, with the rest of his entourage accompanying. When they reached the designated room they found Kaji looking slightly green with Asuka sitting just a little too close to him, and Toji and Kensuke with their heads together at the next table over.

The family all retrieved drinks and seated themselves across from the non-couple, with the two other teenage boys at their backs. Kaji decided to kick things off, saying, "So, tell me Shinji. Is Misato still wild in bed?"

All the women, except Rei, spluttered, some spitting out their drunks. Shinji waited for the noise of the reaction to die down and then started mumbling just loud enough to be heard, counting on his fingers, "In the tree and on the bench, that was in the courtyard. On the couch, loveseat and floor, in the living room, on the desk and ladder in the study, on the table in the dining room, the bath and hallway. Oh yeah," He said at last, with a snap of his fingers. Then he looked the agent in the eyes and said clearly, "Yes she is still wild, both in and out of bed."

Kaji almost didn't believe the youth's not so subtle boast, and then his senses reported in. This child was telling the truth, most of it anyway. And from the way the girls were acting toward him suggested that his ex was not the only one. Asuka took the whole thing too seriously, springing to her feet and shouting, "That's sick." Before she sprinted from the room.

Toji grabbed Kensuke's shoulder, restraining his weak willed friend as they both resisted the urge to bow to their friend and declare a lack of worth to be near him.

Maya commented serenely after she sipped her tea, "I think she doth protest too much. Especially with the way she was leaning against the rude guy."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji and his entourage were enjoying a tour of the massive old ship, walking in a chain with him in the middle and the other boys trailing behind slightly.

They were in the engine room with the chief RO explaining some of the history of nuclear powered boats, "In fact, when the principle of nuclear power was first applied to an aircraft carrier they didn't know how many power plants to use. Incidentally the ship they chose as a test bed had eight boiler systems to provide propulsion, so they just decided to replace them all. During the initial speed tests they were adding the power from each reactor one at a time, to avoid over-taxing the hull." The brunet haired man paused for a moment and then continued, noting that he had their full attention, "When they brought the fifth reactor on-line the resulting speed began buckling the bow plates. Hell of a way to find out that they had about twice as much power as they could use, but the concepts were still pretty young."

Shinji winced and began rubbing his temple, obviously in minor pain. Ritsuko leaned in from the end of the line and asked, "You okay Shinji? The noise isn't bothering you too much, is it?"

The reference to the constant hum of all the generators in the next room made him think for a moment. Then his eyes went wide and he spoke, "No it's not that." He turned to Misato, "You remember that annoying whine I mentioned this morning?"

She nodded and he continued, "It's getting closer. We need to prepare."

Katsuragi nodded and headed out of the room, pulling her radio from her belt and informing the bridge of the situation.

Shinji looked at the RO and bowed, "Sorry to have to cut it short. But we have some pressing business to attend to." He turned and headed after the NERV captain, barely reaching the hatch before the battle stations siren started blaring.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji walked into the bridge as Misato was speaking in a slightly condescending way to the admiral, "Listen. If we don't get the Eva up and running, this whole fleet is going to be destroyed."

The admiral retorted, "Even if we could get that toy up here, I refuse to be scared of any enemy that is so far away that we can't even pick it up on sonar."

Shinji cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention to him, "Sir. The Angel is coming, and fast. I can't be entirely sure, but I think it is moving underwater at speeds that would make a professional racing craft envious. We can probably minimize damage to the fleet, but only if we act quickly."

"What would you have me do? According to you none of our weapons are effective against this enemy."

The pilot shook his head, saying, "All you can do is get out of its way. And the best way to do that is to move as much of the fleet as you can to the port side of this ship. At the same time, maneuver the cargo craft with Unit-02 as close as possible. I can take it from there."

"How can you tell where the Angel is if we can't even pick it up?" The old man asked, fearing he was quickly losing control.

Shinji smiled in the way that Misato found not quite so annoying anymore, "I can tell what direction it is coming from. And if we can get the Eva powered up and battle ready, I can distract that thing and keep it from plowing through this fleet on its way here."

"Very well." The admiral sighed for the second time that day, resigning himself to the fact that this young man was probably his only hope. From what he had heard about him, that just might be a pretty good hope though. He started barking orders, carrying out Shinji's plan, or at least the part he knew.

As the ships maneuvered slowly to place the super carrier on the outer edge of the formation the huge cargo ship with the covered form of Unit-02 was brought alongside. Shinji made his way down to the flight deck, waiting patiently while the formation was reorganized.

He heard steps behind him and turned to see the fiery redhead storming toward him, a fierce scowl on her face. When Asuka finally reached him she said, "What's this I hear about you trying to pilot my Eva?"

"I'm going to use Unit-02 to lure the Angel to this ship. Once here I plan to engage it however possible." He explained calmly.

"Well you can't." She stated hotly, obviously restraining the urge to take another swing at him. "I'm the only one who can sync with my Eva."

Shinji realized that, despite how much training she had received and how much time she had spent with the Eva, she still did not understand. He sighed in resignation and said, "Fine. If you want to come along and help, you can."

Asuka was about to berate her fellow pilot when a small duffel bag flew past her head and was nonchalantly caught by him. He looked at Misato and said, "Thanks. And you might want to get hers as well."

The Captain smirked and tossed a second bag at the other pilot's feet, saying, "Thought she might try to get in your way." She then walked over to Shinji, ignoring the indignant glare she was receiving, and kissed him firmly and deeply. As they broke she said, "Do be careful. We still have so many places in that big house we haven't done it yet."

He smiled, "I will. Don't I always?"

Misato then turned and walked away, determinedly not showing any more of the concern she felt every time he went into combat. When she slipped through the hatch Shinji began stripping, saying, "You might want to get changed." He then pulled his plug suit out of the bag.

Asuka stood there with her mouth open before screaming, "How can you be so blasé about this? And how can you just assault my eyes with your naked body?"

He smiled as he slid his legs into the suit, "There's not really any good that will come out of getting upset by the situation. And I haven't received any complaints about this body so far. Maybe you should get your eyes checked when we get to Tokyo-3." Shinji pressed the button on his wrist, causing the charred black suit to form to his body, the thin red trim tracing his lines perfectly.

The calm demeanor of this boy was driving her crazy. She spat, "At least turn around while I change. I don't want you getting a free show."

He finally let some emotion show in his voice, unfortunately for Asuka it was mirth as he said, "Listen girly. We don't have time for your shit. Now get changed or I'll leave you here and go take care of this myself."

Asuka was getting really mad now as she turned her back on him and pealed her sun dress off her shoulders. His infuriatingly calm tone returned as he continued, "And, it's not like I haven't seen women naked before. It may not be exactly like your equipment, but I have seen similar and better."

At these words she saw red and spun around to shut this wise ass up with a slap to the mouth. Her hand instead passed through air and then her center of gravity shifted as her leg was knocked out from under her. By the time she recovered from landing on her barely padded bum Shinji was once again standing, looking impassively down at her half naked form. He said, still just as calmly, "Would you please stop fooling around and hurry up. I haven't got all day. I want to get the Eva powered up before my headache gets too much worse."

She fumed as she sealed her plug suit and depressed the button to cause it to form fit to her. Once she was done Shinji glanced over his shoulder at the approaching ship, judging the distance by eye. As he turned back around and said, "Looks like about thirty feet across and fifteen down."

"Yeah," She said. "We need to wait for them to set up ladders since we can't take the shuttle while their maneuvering."

"Takes too long." He said as he reached and picked her up.

She instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck while screeching, "What are you doing?"

Before she could ask anything else Shinji walked ten feet away from the edge and turned to face the nearing vessel. He shifted his metabolism, flooding his system with adrenaline, and took off running. His right foot landed just on the edge and he pushed off with all his considerable strength. They were propelled into a low arc, Asuka screaming in fear even as he pivoted in mid air to orient himself between her and the cargo ship. They landed on one of the loose sections of canvas covering the giant bio-robot, decelerating quickly to a full stop before sliding down to the deck.

Several of the crew rushed over to help them off, taking the still yelling girl from his arms as he said, "When she comes out of her hysterical fit, tell her I'll be in the Eva."

As he ducked under the enormous tarp one of the crew said, "I think I would be having hysterics too if I had just had that kind of ride. Who is that guy anyway?"

Another member of the crew answered, "That is Shinji Ikari." At the blank look on his shipmate's face he elaborated, "He is the only human to ever go up against these things. If anybody else had tried that little stunt I would have been surprised as hell to see them pull it off. But as it's him, not really."

The first objected, "You can't tell me you expected that."

"No, and the fact it was him doesn't make it any less impressive. Just not surprising."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji popped the hatch covering the security panel and tapped in the access code. This triggered the back of the Eva to open and the entry plug to rotate out. As he twisted the handles on the emergency hatch he thought, 'Why did they have to humor her by painting it red?'

Once inside he overrode the insertion sequence and started altering settings. By the time Asuka climbed into the cylindrical control interface he had the language changed over to Japanese and was going through the first parts of the system initialization. He said, without looking up, "Close the hatch behind you. I want to get moving soon."

She did as she was told and he triggered the insertion sequence as soon as the tube was sealed, causing her to go tumbling around the smooth surface.

As Asuka righted herself she screamed, "What did you do that for?"

The lights started flashing through the standard startup sequence and Shinji seemed to relax, sighing, "Ahhhh, that's better."

Asuka swam up to him and attempted to hit him on the head. Her fist sluggishly passed through vacant, liquid filled space, while he leaned forward to check a few settings. Then he initiated the final neural connection and felt a variation of the usual emotional burst that accompanied. Shinji responded and felt time slow as his surroundings dissolved.

When he could see again he found himself sitting on the edge of a cliff overlooking a beautiful grassy valley. On his right was Asuka, looking confused by the experience, and on his left was the woman he assumed to be her mother. He turned and bowed his head, saying, "Mrs. Soryu. It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

"And you, young Ikari. You have grown since the last time we met." The woman replied.

Asuka's voice was trembling as she said, "Mother. Is that really you?"

The elder redhead nodded, holding her arms wide for her daughter. "It is. I have missed you so much Asuka."

Shinji rolled back from the edge as the young girl flung herself at her mother. He allowed them a moment of bonding, remembering how it had been for him, before he cleared his throat, "I'm truly sorry. But our time is short, and we need to know what we can about the mind of Unit-02."

"Shut up baka. I don't know how you did this, but I'll never leave this place." Asuka said in a watery voice.

Kyoko patted her on the back soothingly, saying, "Don't be so rude dear. He is right, we don't have very long." She turned to Shinji, "The mind of this Eva is just as violent as the others, but better restrained. It is also very resentful of being subjected to a petulant child all these years."

Asuka gasped, "But that is how they told me to control it. How was I supposed to know?"

"You could have tried harder to understand its needs." Shinji said. "But it doesn't matter. I will try to deal with it, as I have released the controls on its rage."

The sky darkened and a harsh wind blew through the mindscape. Suddenly a flaming shape appeared behind him, lunging toward the other pilot. He interposed himself and grabbed the figure's arms, denying the heat of the flames. This caused him to take no damage from them, as this was a shared reality. He spoke calmly, "The child will not be taunting you this time. Now you deal with me, and I will help you."

The Eva snapped at him, sending tongues of flame past his face, "What do you know, human." The raspy voice was distinctly human, sounding like a much harsher version of Kyoko.

Shinji sent images of his previous battles, along with the fiery emotions that accompanied them. The Eva considered this for a moment before stepping back, the flames dying to reveal a misty form in a feminine shape. It spoke again, this time in a more normal tone, "You have done much for my sister. Because of this I will give you a chance."

The exchange ended with the blurry figure running back into the woods that bordered the grassy clearing. Shinji turned to the elder Soryu and said, "I think we should be going."

She nodded and held up her hand, saying, "Take this with you." Two small blue orbs drifted up from her outstretched palm and headed for the children. As the information entered them it detailed everything she knew about the situation, including the current Angel.

The mindscape shattered at that point, returning the pilots to the cockpit. Asuka was weeping silently, lost to her emotions. He reached out and drew her close, saying soothingly, "I'm sorry we couldn't stay, but I'll take you back soon."

She pushed away and snapped, "How can you know what it's like? How dare..."

Whatever the next question was Shinji would never know as he sent wave after wave of images and emotions through the telepathic link to his fellow pilot's mind. He watched her turn white as his pain burned away all of her rage, leaving her an empty shell filling quickly with despair. He cut off the flow suddenly, letting her recover for a moment before he said, "You see don't you? We are more alike than you could possibly have imagined."

She simply nodded momentarily unable to speak. He motioned Asuka over and settled her on his lap, showing her how to sit so they could both be comfortable while piloting. Then Ikari initiated the last power connection, bringing the Eva fully to life.

The giant red form of Unit-2 rose out of the pool of coolant and stood with the torn canvas tarp wrapped around it like a cloak, pulled up to hide its head. Any who looked at it felt an inexplicable sense of loss and despair that drove them to hide. By this time the Over the Rainbow had come close enough for the transfer to commence.

Shinji still had primary control of the Eva, since Asuka was recovering from one too many mental shocks in too short a period of time. He leapt into the air, arcing high over the deck of the carrier and landing relatively lightly. He positioned himself for the power connection and sighed in relief as the timer stopped counting down.

With plenty of power to spare he leaned forward and whispered, "We need to fight now. Would you like to participate or watch?"

She whipped her head around and smirked at him, "You're not gonna get rid of me that easily."

He sighed and said, "In that case you may want to brace yourself. I'm going to release my control on our sync ratios."

Once again Asuka's mind was assaulted, this time by the three other consciousnesses sharing the link with her. A window popped up to their right and she could see their sync level rocketing from seventy percent to around one-thirty. It plateaued there and Shinji smiled, "That should do it, now to get that thing's attention."

The aircraft carrier lurched to a stop suddenly as an elliptical barrier appeared around it. The bubble of protected reality was thin skinned, Shinji having stretched the AT barrier to its limit, and would not withstand much pounding, as he knew. But the massive outpouring of energy achieved the desired effect, obscuring the signature of Adam and focusing Gaghiel's attention onto Unit-02.

Five hundred meters from the super carrier a plume of white spray shot over a hundred feet into the air as the Angel surfaced and accelerated. In under a minute it cleared the open distance and leapt into the air.

Shinji snapped the AT field back to a skin tight layer of folded space that was its impenetrable default setting. The huge tan form of the Angel landed on the deck, crushing several of the aircraft stored there. The giant flowed toward its enemy, mouth open to reveal a solid row of long pointed teeth. At the back of the elongated mouth was the dull glow of an S2 organ.

The beast flopped down on the Eva in an attempt to crush its foe. Shinji braced against the massive blow and felt the deck buckle, causing them to tumble into the tower. The great maw flashed forward and this time it was Asuka's reflexes that directed the Eva to grab hold and restrain the monster.

Shinji asked, "Can you hold it?"

"Not a problem." Asuka replied, in her element at last.

"Good, because I'm about to shift the AT field."

She was about to ask hotly about his sanity when her shoulder pauldrons opened, presenting two Progressive knives. The full strain of the gargantuan forces pressing on the Eva came to bear on her as the protective barrier morphed and reshaped itself. Both of the Prog blades floated smoothly out of the holders and hovered before the struggling Eva as Shinji held his hands out past his co-pilot. The retractable metal extended and started glowing the tel-tale pink of an active AT edged blade. Then he twisted his arm clockwise and the weapons rotated to point right down the enemies throat.

The red-haired pilot ground out through clinched teeth, "Could you hurry up? I can't hold it all day."

Shinji grinned and closed his fist, sending the two energy sheathed blades toward their target at nearly sonic speeds. He had sent them out at different angles, designed to hit both sides of the core, hopefully splitting it like a melon. At the last moment Gaghiel shifted and one blade passed through the Angel's flesh, blowing a huge hole through the entire creature, sending bits of meat and fluid over the flight deck. The other Prog knife sank about a foot into the glowing orb, wedging itself in as its AT field connection was severed by distance.

The Angel writhed and twisted away from the pain, seeking a return to the water. As it turned, one of the long teeth in its distended jaw caught on Unit-02's right arm. The impossibly sharp tooth went straight through the armor on the arm and slid out the other side, firmly locking the Eva onto the enemy.

Asuka screamed and grabbed her arm as they were bodily dragged into the water by their fleeing foe. Shinji was feeling the pain but, given his current situation, decided putting an arm around the over reactive girl could be bad for her health.

Both the huge organisms went into the water, causing the Eva to relay even more pain as the wound was torn further due to the resistance of the liquid. From inside the entry plug Shinji was running diagnostics. Determining that despite being completely submerged, they still had full mobility. According to the operating manual, underwater operations required special equipment. He pondered this irregularity for a moment before being interrupted by Ritsuko's voice saying, "It's because of your heightened sync ratio. Without that you wouldn't be able to move at all."

The video window showed several people looking at them as the Eva continued its descent. Misato said, "So when were you planning to stop being dragged along and actually end this?"

"Oh," Shinji responded, "You want action, do you? Then tell her to stop screaming in the link. It's hard enough to concentrate without all the flack I keep getting from the redhead."

"You shouldn't even be here." Asuka retorted. "This should be my show."

"How exactly would you be dealing with this situation? Seeing as how Unit-02 couldn't even move if I wasn't here providing a link for you." Shinji snapped back.

"Okay children." Ritsuko interrupted. "As cute as the couple bickering is, you really do need to finish this quickly."

"Fine." Shinji said. He focused his thoughts and began to glow a soft red.

"What are you doing?" Asuka asked with fear in her voice.

He just kept concentrating on the desired effect, not allowing the irate girl to distract him. Suddenly both Eva and Angel started pivoting around their juncture point as the human weapon's AT field mirrored that of the alien, but in the opposite direction.

Gaghiel opened its mouth and jerked, freeing itself of the hindering presence and allowing its escape. The massive form dove and accelerated in a wide arcing turn that would bring it back to the Eva at high speed.

As the Angel approached it opened its mouth, revealing the S2 organ with a Prog knife still embedded in a shallow grove. Shinji took advantage of the opening and placed a small AT barrier right inside the creature's unnatural maw.

The Angel struck the field, forcing the knife the rest of the way in. The Angel bellowed sparks as its life-giving organ was pierced. With no further energy the massive bulk of the dead alien gently coasted to a stop, floating neutrally before the Eva.

Shinji reached out with the AT field and grabbed hold of the carcass, drawing it in close. He said over the connection to the surface, "You can pull us up now. It's over."

The auto wind on the power cable was activated, bringing both Eva and Angel smoothly to the surface.

ooo000OOO000ooo

At the docks that serviced Tokyo-3 a large group of NERV personnel were awaiting the arrival of the UN Pacific fleet that had been tasked with delivering Unit-02. The Section 2 agents were being wary of anyone getting too close to the area, while the techs were just trying not to look so bored.

During the final docking maneuvers the techs moved forward with a huge crane to begin the unloading of the inert Angel. The massive bulk of the alien was ceremoniously placed into a giant crate that was then moved to the rails that went down into the geofront.

After Gaghiel was loaded the techs proceeded to unload the Eva. While this was going on the passengers from NERV disembarked and made their way over to the cars that had been sent for them.

About half way their Misato said, "I can't believe that Kaji ditched us just before the Angel showed up. I would have expected him to have grown up over the years."

Shinji smiled, "He had his orders, and he followed them exactly. But that's still no excuse for running when we were only a few hours from making port. Until you consider what he was really escorting."

Ritsuko spoke up, "You knew he was sent to bring Adam to Japan?"

"Not at first, but I sensed the first Angel leave with him." Shinji answered.

Just as Misato was about to make a comment on the character of her ex-boyfriend a loud shout was heard from behind them, "Hey! Third Child!"

Shinji turned to see Asuka hadn't even bothered to change out of her plug suite. The irate pilot was storming toward him as he answered, "What can I do for you Asuka?"

"You can drop dead!" The redhead roared as she took a swing at the male pilot.

He ducked under the attack and twisted, sweeping his attacker off her feet. For the third time that day Asuka's pride was injured by not being able to even phase the smug asshole standing over her. She silently swore right there that she would never forgive him for this. Even if part of her did think he was cute.

Shinji looked down at her and said, "I think we've had enough fun for today. If you're done trying to replace me as the alpha male, which you have the wrong plumbing for, then we need to get home. That battle took a lot out of me."

She fumed as the rest of the group walked away, except for Rei. The red eyed girl reached down and hefted Asuka bodily to her feet, saying, "On that note, we have prepared a room for you at our home. You will be staying there as a ward of the Tactical Director."

"Who is this we?" The furious girl growled out between clinched teeth.

Rei cocked her head and wondered why the second child was being so slow to pick up on the meaning of her words, "Misato, Ritsuko, Maya, Shinji, and myself. Technically the house belongs to Shinji, but we all live there." She said the last part with a slightly dreamy expression on her face.

"That's just sick. You're all just perverted degenerates. How can the government condone such a blatant sex cult? And how can they let children be involved?" Asuka spat.

"It is a most efficient arrangement. This way we can all be notified at the same time and make our way to Headquarters together. This helps to eliminate any confusion. As for the relationship that exists between us, everyone in that house, save you of course, is legally an adult. And being the only hope for victory in this war has its privileges."

Ritsuko called, "Should we just send the car back for you two? The Shin man is getting pretty hungry, and I want to get dinner over with as soon as possible." She said the last with a mild lilt in her voice to indicate indecent events she had planned for the night.

Shinji shook his head and sighed, "A hero's work is never done." While Toji and Kensuke once more resisted the urge to bow and declare their lowly status.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Thanks to my wife for prereading this for me.


	12. Chapter 12: Integration

Hentai Shinji Chapter 12: Integration

Asuka awoke slowly to an unfamiliar ceiling, unsure where she was. The bed was luxuriously comfortable with deep cushions and blankets. The light streaming in the open window tugged at her consciousness, beckoning her to wake. The soft scent of cherry blossoms reached her nose, carried on a cool breeze.

She shot bolt upright with full memories of the previous day. Her surroundings now registered, making her scowl at the lavish appointments. So far the nicest person in this mad house had been that creepy pilot, Ayanami. Asuka reflected on the fact that the first child was almost too friendly. Like she had just learned how and was trying to be friends with everyone. The rest of the weird 'family' had been polite, but at the same time stand-offish. It was as if they were holding back until Rei managed to befriend her and then they would pounce.

The most annoying part was that the only one she knew from before, Misato, seemed to be as wholeheartedly a part of the harem as the others. This left the irritated redhead sure that any attempt to convince her friend that this entire situation was just wrong wound fall on deaf ears.

A sharp rap at the door interrupted her thoughts. She answered irritably, "Yes."

Shinji replied from the other side of the door, "Get up. You're gonna be late." His footsteps indicated that he was not waiting for a reply.

She glanced at the clock and realized she only had about five minutes before she needed to leave. How could they let her sleep so late when they knew how long it took to get to the school on foot?

Jumping from the bed she said a silent thank you to Rei for suggesting she get a bath the night before. Asuka was quickly changed, just putting her trademark A-10 clips in her hair as she came down the stairs. She was surprised to find the entire sex cult sitting around the small table still eating breakfast.

Shinji looked up and said, "About time sleepy head, and thank you. Please join us." He waved toward the empty place next to Rei and Asuka took it. A bowl of rice and a plate of fish and vegetables were placed before the redhead.

She raised her eyebrow as money was handed to the young male who was smiling knowingly at her. He finally said, "I bet them all that you would oversleep. And then, just to add insult to injury, I also guessed how long it would take you to get down the stairs after I woke you."

Asuka turned red as her anger built, "So you think it's funny that you let me oversleep? Now I have to shovel this meal down before we head off to school."

Rei set her hand on the girl's arm and spoke in a soothing tone, "We don't have to leave any time soon. Shinji always takes me to school, and Maya has offered to give you a lift on her way into Headquarters. So relax and enjoy the food. I do have to admit that Misato outdid herself today."

What little the redhead remembered of the tactical director's cooking came bubbling up to the surface. She tentatively eyed the morsels of fish and vegetables, wondering which would be poisonously spicy. Finally settling on the rice as a safe bet, Asuka started in. She immediately found that the usually bland side was exquisitely seasoned, complementing all the other flavors of the meal. She took a sip of her tea and commented, "This is really good Misato, who has been giving you cooking lessons?"

The older woman smiled serenely, "Both Ritsuko and Shinji have been coaching me on several subjects, not just cooking. They have helped me developed so much in the past month."

The dreamy tone to Misato's voice was driving Asuka crazy. How could that annoying brat make women swoon so much? She asked herself. One thing was certain, the red haired pilot was going to have to find some way to tear the brat a new one.

As she was just getting moving on her plan Shinji set his chopsticks across his bowl and stood, saying, "I think it's time we got moving."

Rei and Maya both rose and followed him, trailed by Asuka as she tried to munch a few more pieces of grilled fish.

As the redhead reached the driveway she noticed the three people sitting astride two bikes. Maya handed Asuka a helmet and motioned for her to sit behind the bridge bunny. Keeping her anger in check she asked, "Are you sure? I mean, those things are hardly safe with only one person."

Shinji called back, as he walked his motorcycle away a few steps, "What's wrong? Scared?"

Predictably, Asuka took the challenge and slid the headgear on. Then she swung her leg over the back of the bike and wrapped her arms around the junior officer's slender waist. She was about to say something about nothing scaring her when both drivers gunned the electrical engines.

They flew out of the driveway at speeds that Asuka felt were not only unsafe, but patently insane. She tightened her grip, causing Maya to grunt slightly from the excessive pressure.

Shinji pushed the limits of his fellow driver's reflexes, giving the second child a good ride. This meant that he had to tone down his usual ride a bit, but there were no reasons to do anything more than frighten the arrogant pilot.

ooo000OOO000ooo

In the most secure room on the planet the regularly scheduled meeting was getting underway. As each member logged in another black monolith with the message 'Video Error' would appear.

Some members wondered for the hundredth time why they bothered using the elaborate facility when a simple isolated chat room or secure conference call would do just as well. They knew the answer though. Prestige. When you can afford to waste a hundred thousand dollars per meeting it said something about your finances.

Unlike most political bodies, this one did almost everything on a meticulous timetable. This is why at exactly five minutes after two in the morning GMT the head of the body spoke, "I see that we are missing #23. Does anyone know why?"

#17 spoke, "He is dead."

This started a torrent of murmurs from all the other members. Finally #1 managed to restore order and asked, "Please elaborate?"

#17 answered, "The Tertiary Adjutant was driving home two nights ago when he lost control and went over the edge of a multi story interchange. The car was flattened on impact with him inside. Due to the fact that he had all the automatic systems disabled it is possible that he fell asleep."

#5 asked, "Are you saying that it was an accident?"

#1 interrupted, "Miller was known for his love of manual driving. I see no reason that this should take up any more of our time. We will of course need to replace him as soon as possible. But on to business."

No one missed the use of the former member's last name, still not being able to figure out how #1 always had such detailed information on them while keeping his own hidden. #12 dived straight into the agenda, "It appears that the young Ikari is going to be even more of a nuisance than we expected. The recent operation aboard the 'Over the Rainbow' cost the UN fleet only half a percent of what we projected."

#19 shouted, "NERV can easily reimburse the UN for that small an amount. How is the budget cut program going?"

#8 responded, "The projected allocation for NERV is set to decrease by thirteen percent a month until it reaches one quarter its current level."

#16 asked, "How will that affect their operations?"

#22 spoke, "If their current trend continues then it will still leave them with a significant surplus. But we cannot justify more drastic cuts without causing problems with UN backing."

#1 spoke at this point, "It will have to do, but redirect as much funding as possible to finishing the production model units."

The meeting continued, ranging from reports on small skirmishes in the Middle Eastern countries to the current disposition of the American political structure. When it was all over Keel Lorenz was once again alone in his office.

He leaned back and thought about the 'accidental' death of Brian Miller. Everything pointed to a simple case of driver error, but the death of any member of SELEE made him nervous. He knew that sooner or later Gendo would send assassins for him, but not yet. The committee was still too important to the continued operation of NERV. They both knew it, as it was a rule of the game, leading to posturing. Like sending Kaji to infiltrate their headquarters and report back. Lorenz still wasn't sure this didn't smell of a third player, someone who could act with anonymity.

ooo000OOO000ooo

At lunch Rei walked over to Asuka and asked, "Would you like to have lunch together. I know a really good shade tree."

"That sounds good." Asuka said worriedly, "Did Shinji tell you to be nice to me?"

The red eyed girl cocked her head, "No. He hasn't even mentioned you since yesterday. Shinji did say that you looked lonely though. So I wanted to help you not be so lonely."

Asuka accepted this as possible with everything she had seen of the pale skinned girl. She nodded and grabbed her lunch to follow the fellow pilot out the door.

A blonde on the other side of the room whispered to her friends, "What's up with the Ice Queen? Was she actually being nice to the new girl?"

The brunette next to her responded, "That's what it sounds like."

The third girl in the group commented, "I heard Asuka's also a pilot. So they probably met through that."

The blonde said, "I just never expected to see that kind of interaction out of her."

The third girl had a concerned look on her face, "She has changed a lot since Shinji showed up. I hear that they're living together."

The second said, "He is so dreamy. I've seen him in his gym outfit and, damn. The muscles on him are so sexy. I hope Miss Icy doesn't already have him staked down."

All three nodded at this, thinking about how they wanted to be with the very manly pilot. The class representative overheard this and shook her head. She walked over and said, "If you three would put as much energy into your studies as you do into gossiping we would have a much higher class average." She held up her hand and continued, "Not that it's any of your business, but Shinji has emancipated youth status, as does Rei. You couldn't touch him even if he wanted you"

The blonde looked haughty and asked, "And how would you know that class rep? Have you been thinking about going after him?"

Hikari smiled back and said in a bold voice, "My boyfriend told me."

The brunette shared a shocked look with the other two and asked, "Since when do you have a boyfriend?"

The class rep answered, "Toji came by my house and asked me before he walked me to school this morning. He even brought flowers, it was so romantic, though a bit much." She spun on her heel and headed off to find her boyfriend.

The third girl sighed, "Now we don't even have an Ice Princess to gossip about. What is this class coming to?"

The other two nodded in agreement.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Gendo was sitting in his trademark intimidating position while he contemplated the report he had received. He said absently, "There's no proof this was anything but an accident."

Fuyutsuki was seated across from him and lounging back in the comfortable chair that had been brought in for just such a purpose, "The data recorder agrees with that conclusion. But the timing just seems too convenient. It could have been a test of the information you gave him."

Gendo grinned to himself, thinking how proud he was of Shinji for not taking anything at face value. He sighed, "I think we can let it be for right now. Unless this becomes a pattern there should be no danger of tipping our hand."

"So just write it off as an accident until it happens again?"

"I think that may be the best way to handle it, yes."

Kozo scratched his chin thoughtfully, "If that's the way you want it. But it may still bite us in the ass."

"Without risk there is no profit. And the stakes we are playing for are high and far reaching."

"True. Speaking of risk, when is the implantation scheduled?"

"Later today. Akagi should have it finished in no time, but I will still be out of it while I adapt to this."

"But why you? This could be lethal if he awakes and finds himself bound to a human."

Gendo lowered his hands to reveal his smile, "Acceptable risk, old friend. Adam must remain sedated, and we only know one substance that will do that. At the same time, having him out of cryo will draw them to Tokyo-3 without a doubt."

The old professor frowned, "Just be careful Gendo. It would do little good for Shinji to bring Yui back just to have you die from some deluded immortality trip."

"Don't worry so much. I know I'm not invincible, but if I can control him then we can possibly subdue the rest of the Angels. After that is done, we remove Adam and kill it too,"

ooo000OOO000ooo

Going to the Geofront almost every day was simply another unavoidable part of being an Eva pilot. As the trio of adolescents entered the Eva cages they were greeted by five other members of the NERV staff. Gendo looked up as the door hissed quietly open. He walked over and said to the three pilots, "If it isn't too inconvenient I would like to have a word with my son. In private." The emphasis was carefully measured to hint that the two girls should continue on.

Shinji nodded, suspecting that this had to do with the messages he had received from Johnson over the past few days. "Sure thing, old man." He turned to Rei, "If you would please fill Ritsuko in on the details of the plan."

The red eyed girl nodded and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. She then motioned for Asuka to follow her.

When the other pilots were out of earshot Shinji said, "What's up sir?"

The elder Ikari flinched at the honorific, "Now that everyone is gone you show me some respect?"

"I try not to be disrespectful, just playful dad." Shinji replied with a smile. "Helps to establish me as the leader of the Eva team."

Despite his careful control Gendo found his face contorting into a gently respectful smile, "I would like to know if you have taken any... 'overt', action on the information I sent you?"

"You didn't honestly expect me to take it on faith, did you? I had to at least confirm some of the data." Shinji held up his hand to keep his Father from interrupting, "Don't worry. That is the only one I plan to have eliminated any time soon. I'll just have my contacts target as many of the rest as I can afford. After that they can wait for my signal."

Shinji's Father extracted a thin piece of printed plastic from his pocket and handed it to his son, "These are the names of the committee members already targeted. You need not bother with them."

"Thanks. That saves me the trouble of guessing. If that's all, I do need to get going now. Big day planned."

Gendo placed his hand on Shinji's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze before leaving.

Shinji smiled to himself, finding the relationship with his father comforting. He thought about how much he had hated the man, for so long wanting nothing more than his slow painful death. Now they were working together on several projects and developing a deeper emotional bond. Despite everything, Shinji was more than willing to give him another chance.

Pushing the musings to the back of his head the young pilot walked over to the group that was discussing the day's training. "Did you fill Rits in on the plan yet girls?"

Rei nodded, "She sees no problem. But it will eventually become necessary for Asuka to achieve high level Sync on her own."

"Of course." Shinji said, "But that may take longer given that her previous training will have to be unlearned. After that I suspect she will progress quickly, seeing as there will already be a rapport between her and the Eva."

"I don't need your help third child. I've been syncing with my Eva for years without you." The redhead snapped.

"Can it Soryu." The black suited pilot responded, "Unless you don't want to learn how to contact your mother again."

Asuka's mouth closed with a snap, conveying her consent to the procedure.

Ritsuko snickered, "It'll just take us a moment to adjust the interface. Should have it done by the time you get there."

"Restore the settings from our battle on the 'Over the Rainbow'. Those should work fine." Shinji said.

"But you disabled the mental restraints, which I might point out is against regulations. That setting will run the risk of a berserker reaction within the cages." The scientist argued.

"Nothing will go wrong Rits. Besides, I can't have a conversation with the Eva if it can barely think."

The cockiness of the young pilot was starting to grate on Akagi. But the young man before her deserved every bit of it with a track record like his. The blonde turned toward her crew and said, "Load the 'user defined' from the previous battle and prepare Unit-02 for insertion protocols."

Shinji smiled at Asuka and hooked a thumb over his shoulder, "Come on Rookie. Your mother is waiting."

The furious girl shouldered past him, whispering in a dangerous tone, "Just teach me what I have to know Third Child. I want you out of my cockpit soon."

ooo000OOO000ooo

The entry plug filled with LCL, a fluid designed to both nourish and oxygenate the pilot and facilitate a telepathic link to the Eva. The two pilots were momentarily plunged into darkness and in that moment Shinji started a preemptive strike on the behemoth's mind. He sent two distinct sets of images and emotions. To the Evangelion he sent pictures of his battles and the emotions that accompanied them while Asuka's mother received the most passionate things he could remember and imagine.

In the instant before the 'kaleidoscope effect', as he called it, started their entire world shifted.

Once again they found themselves on the cliff, but this time both Mrs. Soryu and the Eva's avatar were waiting. The two red haired women ran at each other, lost in their desire to catch up now that they weren't in a combat situation. Shinji motioned for the foggy persona to follow him.

As they reached the edge of the woods he said, "I would like to thank you for helping me last time."

"I did nothing to help or hinder you during the battle." The Eva replied.

"Exactly. Usually the hardest part of cooperating with an Eva is getting past the aggression. You kept yours in check and left us to deal with the enemy." Shinji explained.

"In that case, you are welcome. But you also impressed me with your command of the territorial boundary. I should not be surprised though. Not with you having a functional Core."

"Getting back to what I need to know, what can I expect from the next Angel?"

"I have no idea." At the unbelieving look on Shinji's face she continued, "The Angels are linked on a subconscious level, each one learning a little from those that came before. From this information they each develop a new strategy to reach Adam. This led them to Lilith in the basement, as she was the last to have contact with him. But now that he is here they will fight even harder to achieve their ascension."

"Ascension?" Shinji asked.

"They all seek to wipe humanity from the face of the Earth and repopulate it with their own species, much as Lilith did."

"So why have they waited so long to strike?"

"Many millennia ago seventeen beings existed on this planet. They were all close enough to be called relatives, but with very different evolutionary paths. Adam decreed that all but two would enter a deep slumber, to be awoken one at a time if the number of active angels should drop below two."

They found a clearing formed by the toppling of a large tree and sat on one of the logs left behind. Then the Eva continued, "But Lilith cheated. She out-thought her opponent and made the Lance of Longinus. Using this weapon she was able to subdue Adam without killing him and then left him to rot. She went to an isolated archology and spawned her own race, you, humans. Adam slept until fifteen years ago when the children of Lilith woke him up. He was understandably pissed, having been restrained there for so long while his rival carried out her own plans. When he was defeated by your people it sent the signal to awaken the others. Fortunately for humanity it takes a long time to assimilate several thousand years of memories, thus giving you fifteen years to prepare. But now they know what happened, and they intend to have their chance to prove their path is the superior one."

"Even if it has already been proven wrong?"

"How so cherub?"

"Lilith managed to defeat more than just Adam. She subdued all of them and won her prize. The right to make her own race of creatures was hers for outsmarting all the rest."

"True enough. But that is why we must fight, to prevent the destruction of the rightful owners of this planet."

The environment shifted, causing a nauseous feeling to sweep over Shinji. The Eva commented, "You have held on here too long. Take the brat and go, before it hurts you."

"Thank you. I hope that we can talk again some time." He said.

At that moment the two flame tops burst through the foliage and Asuka yelled, "What's happening?"

"The mindscape is collapsing." Shinji answered. "I've already held it open too long, it's gonna come down hard."

As if to prove his point the mental reality shattered into smaller and smaller pieces, each one slicing through the pilots' psyches.

When they could open their eyes the lights of the Eva cage felt extremely bright. Shinji turned Asuka's head to face him, "Did you feel the initiation spike?"

She blinked, unable to understand what he was talking about. Finally recalling the conversation they had before entering Unit-02 she answered, "Yes. It was weird, different from the other time. It was like you were trying to preempt the connection and bring both the Eva and my mother into a direct link."

He nodded, "Exactly, but do you remember what I used to form the connection?"

"Yes. I don't think I can do that though. I don't have any memories like that."

Shinji smiled, "Not everything there was a memory. Some of it was just my sick imagination randomly putting scenes together. The important thing is to get the emotions behind it."

He mentally triggered a comm screen, causing Doctor Akagi to appear directly before them, "Hey Ritsuko, go ahead and cycle again. The flame top here is going to try it now."

The Eva shut down, cutting their mental links to each other. As the startup was repeated he said, "Now give it a try."

Asuka's face scrunched up as she concentrated on the images and emotions. Shinji broke into giggles as the world dissolved.

All four entities appeared on the cliff, Shinji still giggling at his fellow pilot. Mrs. Soryu looked at him curiously, "What, may I ask, is so funny?"

He gasped out between laughs, "It was... her choice of... images and... emotions."

Shinji dissolved into genuine laughter at the glare he was receiving. Asuka said, "What's so hilarious about me wanting to beat you up?"

The ghostly form of the Eva began giggling at this while her mother simply frowned, "Why would you want to beat up the boy who has brought us back together?"

"Because he's nothing but a perverted idiot." The younger redhead snapped.

"And the fact that she was planning to use Unit-02 to curb stomp me." Shinji was getting himself under control, "She apparently thinks that will give her a chance of getting through my defenses."

At this both Shinji and the Eva were rolling on the ground laughing at the girl. Asuka formed her hand into a fist and swung at the offensive male in her midst. To her surprise he rolled out of the way and straight off the cliff. He then floated back up to stand on nothing but air.

"How can you do that?" She shrieked at him.

"Asuka," He said, gesturing around, "Mental environment."

She blushed, "That's cheating."

Shinji was about to reply when the world went grey and the two pilots ended up back in the entry plug.

"Damn it Shinji! You wasted the whole time laughing at me." Asuka shrieked.

The male pilot kicked off, sending him clear of the swing. Then he issued the mental command to eject the entry plug. The environment went black for a moment and twisted, leaving the red haired girl disoriented.

Light flooded in from the separation in the plug as it opened. Shinji said, "I think you get the gist of it. Later." And with that he swung himself out and onto the loading platform.

"Baka!" Asuka yelled as she reclosed the hatch and initiated the insertion process again.

ooo000OOO000ooo

"He's just so infuriating." Asuka yelled as she settled into the bath back at home. "It doesn't help that he has the right to be so smug."

"At least you can admit that." Ritsuko said. "It helps just to acknowledge that he is probably the most capable man you'll ever meet."

"But he's just a kid, like me. Not some adult."

Misato sighed before speaking soothingly, "Listen Asuka, he's both. He has the causal abandon of youth, but he still knows how to conduct himself as an adult to get what he wants."

"But what about you two, how can you be with him?" The redhead asked.

Misato and Ritsuko glanced at each other before saying in unison, "We love him."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Toji and Kensuke were sitting under a large tree, waiting for their best friend to arrive while conducting some honest business. The pictures that Shinji had given Aida were making him more and more every day, leading to a steady supply of money flowing into their new project. A project they wanted to keep hidden from the famous pilot for as long as possible.

Shinji and Rei came to the top of the stairs, followed by Asuka, just as the last customer of the morning was leaving. Kensuke was counting the take from his biggest selling time of the day, easily exceeding a thousand yen. Quickly separating ten percent, which he gave to his childhood friend for unnecessary bodyguard duties, he placed the rest in a zipping bank bag and stood. "So, how are you crazy kids doing today?" The nerd asked.

"Yeah," Toji added, "Have you tamed the red demon yet?"

"Nah, figured I'd leave that for someone else to do." Shinji answered.

"I have no interest in boys. Perverts." The red haired pilot answered haughtily on her way past.

"I'll be sure to let my girlfriend know to watch out then." Toji snapped back.

Shinji slapped the jock on the back and asked, "So you finally grew a pair and asked her?"

"Watch it Ikari." Toji warned, "I've always had a perfectly sized pair. I just didn't know exactly how to use them."

"It's simple.."

Shinji was cut off by Asuka screaming, "I can't believe you Baka! First you humiliate me. Now you're going to assault me with your vulgar explanation of how the male body works!"

"Actually it wasn't meant for you. I was gonna give my friend here some pointers on how to treat women." Shinji answered in a level tone, "I would hate to see him stick his foot in his mouth like he used to."

"What do you mean 'used to'?" Kensuke asked.

"Watch it." Toji glared at his friend, "I can definitely beat you up."

"Who do I call when my bodyguard starts an Eva-stomp with me as the stompee?" Aida wondered.

"The only one who could stop me," Toji hooked a thumb toward Shinji, "Him."

The conversation was cut short by the school bell ringing. All five children hurried inside to avoid the understated ire of their lethargic teacher.

ooo000OOO000ooo

"That's impressive progress Asuka." Ritsuko said to the redhead after another afternoon of training. "Your sync ratio is up to ninety percent after only a week of practice."

"Ha!" The preening pilot called out, "Top that Third Child!"

Shinji manifested his smile and asked, "Ritsuko, what was my record?"

The blond scientist flipped a page on her clipboard and read, "During your battle with the fifth Angel, you held a ratio of 206.5 for ten seconds after holding steady at 200 for thirteen seconds."

Asuka's jaw dropped at the proclamation, unable to wrap her mind around the facts. "You-You're not human." She stuttered, "That's not even supposed to be possible."

"Just a new level to reach for." He said, "Now I think I need a shower."

"Need help?" Rei asked.

"Sure, we can scrub each other's backs." Shinji said in a voice that promised much more.

As the two involved pilots walked away the red haired girl turned to Ritsuko, "How does he do it?" At the questioning look she elaborated, "I mean it's not possible to get over 100 percent without getting contaminated by the Eva."

"He is contaminated. He has an S2 organ that he acquired during that same battle." Ritsuko answered.

"Why hasn't he been quarantined?" Asuka asked.

"What's the point? He somehow managed to get the Eva to work with him at an unprecedented level. And his brain scans are as normal as they have ever been."

Not wanting any more clarifications this afternoon, the Second Child waved goodbye and headed to the showers.

ooo000OOO000ooo

"He is intolerable. He beats me at every turn, acts so nonchalant about it, makes out everywhere, and is a freak of nature!" Asuka complained as she helped Maya preparing dinner.

"He sure is." The bridge bunny said airily.

"That's it, I'm Doomed! Surrounded by nothing but perverts." The irate pilot screeched while stirring the soup.

Maya sobered and said, "Listen Asuka. He's not so bad once you get to know him. Yes he is a great pilot, but all that means is you have to set your sights a lot higher if you want to get that good. He's already proved it's possible, and told you how to improve your own piloting abilities, so the hard part is behind you." She put the chicken she had been cutting up into the wok and was stirring it, "Most of it was trial and error for him. True he did his homework and has had surprisingly few errors, but that's just his way. You need to keep trying and you'll get there."

"But I've been training for most of my life. I should be better." Asuka sobbed.

"Training is useful. But it is almost nothing when held up against having to dive in and survive on nothing but your will to live and the guts to try something crazy."

"So, just try crazy shit until it works, is that what you're telling me?"

"Within reason, but yes. You also need to do your homework." Maya smiled gently at the younger girl. "If you ask nicely, Shinji may be willing to let you borrow the stuff Ritsuko gave him. From what he said, it really helped him."

The redhead despised the idea of being nice to her fellow pilot. His justified arrogance rubbed her several wrong ways, frustrating the girl to no end. But she could fake it, if only long enough to turn her fantasy about hurting the little shit into reality. She tried to force a thankful smile on her face, though it wanted to slip to vengeful, and said, "Thanks Maya."

ooo000OOO000ooo

"What was so urgent Kensuke?" Toji asked as he stretched once more, "Especially at ten p.m."

"This." Aida gestured at the building sitting atop the small hill they had just climbed.

It had the look of a shrine, right down to the ancient architecture and hanging paper wards.

"Why drag me to a temple in the middle of the night? This had better be good." The jock said, cracking his knuckles in what he thought was an intimidating way.

"You remember that thing we talked about on the 'Over the Rainbow'?" The geek asked.

"Yeah, I remember. But I thought that was still a ways off." Comprehension dawned on Toji's face

"The sale of those pictures Shinji gave me, along with the ones I've caught of the Red Demon, have been through the roof. I didn't expect it to go this well, but it's stepped up the whole plan. On top of that I found this place, not perfect, as I would have preferred more steps, but it was going cheap." Kensuke was getting giddy, "Something to do with no more visitors or something. So I got it all set up and. It. Is. Perfect."

Toji slid the paper door open and looked in to see everything exactly as his friend had described it. The lighting was mainly electric candles flickering throughout the interior. This cast long shadows across three of the four walls. But against the far wall was the most impressive sight he could have imagined, a three foot tall, five foot wide statue of Shinji and his harem. The man was sitting comfortably with the girls arranged around him to lie comfortably without giving anyone dominance.

"How could you accomplish all of this in such a short time? It's only been a week since you told me about this."

"I was working on the form for the bronze a week before I let on. After the massive influx of money it just progressed quickly."

They kicked their shoes off and walked toward the main focus of the shrine. Reaching a distance of roughly five feet away they stopped and bowed their heads.

Suddenly, both boys fell to their knees and began bowing their entire upper body while chanting, "We're not worthy!"

ooo000OOO000ooo

In his private apartment, located deep within the Geofront, Gendo Ikari was just sitting down for an all night work session. There was heavy rave music pumping through the surround system built into the room, giving him a good cadence for reading. He glanced at a picture on the corner of the coffee table and sighed, remembering when that picture had been taken. Yui, baby Shinji in her arms, and him hugging them both from behind. Kozo had taken the photo when they had still been excavating the Geofront and building Tokyo-3. This gave the scene a beautiful backdrop of the valley with the large metal cages for the retractable buildings.

He blew his wife a kiss and returned to his work, hoping to be done sooner, rather than later.

Just as he was about to sign another order with his bandaged right hand he felt a massive wave of pride for his son wash over him. The sensation pushed everything else from his mind and he smiled to himself.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Thanks to be best friend Birga and my wife for proofing this chapter.

Also, thanks for the great responses.


	13. Chapter 13: Rage

Hentai Shinji Chapter 13: Rage

The three pilots were reporting for the afternoons training, once again to be tested on their sync ratios. Shinji walked onto the command deck with a nonchalant gait that spoke volumes about his attitude. He waved at the upper level and called, "Hey old guys."

His cheerful greeting caused several gasps and a couple chuckles from the rest of the bridge crew. Even more surprising was Gendo smiling and waving back, "How's it hanging son?"

"Long, flaccid, and to the right at the moment." The pilot answered.

As he approached Misato he smiled, "Is there some way to direct these sensors in a given direction?"

The Tactical Director turned to Ritsuko, "Is there? I've only seen us focus on a target once it was detected."

"We leave them on omni-directional scan since we hardly ever know where the Angels are coming from." The blonde scientist answered. "But we can scan in a given direction out to a much greater range if we know where to look."

"In that case, could you give me a scan in that direction?" Shinji pointed to indicate the way to point the sensors.

Maya began retasking the many detection nodes into a phased array to accomplish the desired function. After a few moments every alarm in the giant complex sounded and several holographic screens appeared in the main projection area. One reported the current state of the pattern analysis as leaning toward blue.

Misato flipped a switch, killing the blaring sound. "Well, that helps. Now at least we can find the damn thing."

Ritsuko leaned over the smaller displays and began typing furiously. The large map showing a portion of the Pacific Ocean, bordered on the left by Japan, zoomed in on a slowly moving dot off the east coast of the island nation. "From these readings, looks like a day, day and half tops, then it will be making landfall."

"That's enough time to evacuate the civilians." Kozo commented from his place next to the commander. "We have to get them out of here."

"No." Gendo and Shinji said at the same time. The younger nodded to his father, who nodded back. Then he continued, "We're going to meet it head on, right on the coast. Asuka and I will take up positions straight in its path while Rei covers us at long range with the particle cannon."

"That weapon hasn't been tested in the field yet. It could explode as soon as she pulls the trigger." Ritsuko added.

"This will be the perfect test." Shinji countered. "Besides, the cannon is a last resort, just in case the rookie gets in my way too much."

"In your way!" The fiery redhead screamed, "You just stay out of my way or you'll get hurt."

"Sure thing kid." Shinji waved her off. Turning to Misato he asked, "Do you see any problems with the plan, Captain?" He pointedly ignored the fuming red haired girl behind him.

"Why can't we just drop a few N2 mines on the thing?" The Tactical Director asked.

"Tsunami." Ritsuko answered. "It would produce a massive shockwave that could severely damage coastal areas."

"Shit. Then I guess it's daggers at dawn, or whenever the thing shows up." Misato conceded.

Maya called out, "If the Angel maintains course and speed, it will come ashore on the partially submerged outskirts of Old Tokyo tomorrow afternoon."

"Perfect." Shinji said. "We should have enough time to get dug in and prepared for our adversary."

Gendo stood up and cleared his throat, "I will leave the details in your hands Captain. I have a plane to catch."

The commander turned and walked to his private, one man lift. Just before he started descending Shinji said, "Remember, Mile High Club membership only counts if you're more than a mile up."

Gendo's snort of laughter could be clearly heard through open top of the shaft, causing many members of the bridge crew to blink at the unexpected behavior. Finally the male pilot resumed the previous conversation, "If you'll bring up a map of the likely intercept points we can get started planning."

A diagram of the coastline popped up, overlaid with a projected course and possible landfall locations. The group threw around ideas, brainstorming possible ways to make the two separate tiers of the plan work with each other.

About fifteen minutes after the Commander's departure a screen appeared within inches of Shinji's face. It showed his father sitting on a private jet, wearing his trademark smirk, very close to the one that Shinji used to drive Misato and Asuka up the wall. "For the record," He said, "I joined that club almost fifteen years ago."

The connection was cut before anyone could respond, leaving everyone to stare while processing the message. Shinji started laughing, amused at his progenitor's implication. He shook himself and returned his attention to the task at hand to find a few people looking at him with confused expressions. He sighed, "That's his way of saying that I was probably conceived due to his activities on a plane. But back to work." He gave everyone a moment to react to this as he typed a few commands into the console. The MAGI processed the input and displayed several possible outcomes, each listing the probability. Selecting the second most likely he superimposed the plan onto the coastline diagram and began shifting a few details. Once satisfied, he turned to Misato, "How does that look to you?"

The Tactical Director reviewed the sidebar, doing a few calculations in her head, "Looks like we'll be cutting it pretty close getting all these positions set up, but it looks doable."

"Do you really need half our Eva-scale Launcher's rockets?" Ritsuko asked, knowing how expensive the things were and the fact that the budget had been cut.

Shinji shrugged, "No idea. But if any weapon actually shows the ability to damage the thing I would like to have enough rounds to finish it. If it shows no affect we'll try something else, but I suspect this is going to be a hand to hand fight."

"What makes you say that?" Maya asked as she swung her chair around and handed a clip board to Misato with the necessary forms to begin the operation.

Shinji answered, "This one feels different. I don't think we'll be able to counter its AT field at range."

He was about to continue when the Captain started laughing. She handed the clipboard to her blond friend, pointing out a particular line. The scientist giggled at the printout and said, "Only you could pervert three supercomputers, Shinji."

"Hold on a minute," He retorted, "I'm not denying my ability to pervert things, but..."

Whatever he was about to say was cut off by the papers being shoved into his face. He found the indicated line and snorted, "Okay, it's true. I corrupt computers. But it seems like an accurate name for the operation."

"Yeah, it is three 'on' one." Misato said, "So you might as well call it a Gangbang."

Asuka gasped, "I refuse to participate in any operation with such a perverted name."

"Can the innocent routine, rookie." Shinji retorted, "Or did you think no one noticed the way you favored Kaji back on the 'Rainbow'?"

"At least I'm not part of a sex cult!" She screamed back.

"Good thing too. You would never fit in with that level of maturity." Shinji replied calmly.

"I'm more mature that you are!" The redhead spat.

"Who's the one screaming here?"

Asuka stood there fuming, trying to find an adequate response. After a few seconds she turned and stormed out.

"Do you have to antagonize her like that?" Ritsuko asked.

"I need her in the right state of mind for tomorrow, since I suspect we will have to get close to the enemy. If she is on a hair trigger by then, I can just squeeze a little and watch the sparks fly as she tries to prove she is the better pilot." The calm young man replied.

"I thought the plan was to try to take it out with bullets and rockets and such?" Maya asked.

"Plans within Plans. Always." Shinji answered with a small smile on his features.

ooo000OOO000ooo

By noon the next day they had prepared their positions, Shinji using his Eva's AT field as an efficient earth moving tool. Then they had run cables for power to all the points, as well as a couple backups, and all the requested weapons and munitions. Now he was lounging in his cockpit, playing chess against Rei while Asuka whined, "How much longer?"

Misato answered, "About half an hour. Just relax, it will get here soon enough."

"I can't stand this, why can't that thing hurry up?" The redhead asked.

"Do not hasten death, rookie. Live in the now, and be happy while you can." Shinji answered.

"Let's just get one thing straight Third Child." She snapped back. "If we have to get into hand to hand, I get first crack."

"Misato, how much damage is considered acceptable before I step in and save her ass?" Shinji inquired nonchalantly.

"None." The captain replied. "No grandstanding. Just kill the thing as quickly as possible. This is not the time or place to prove who the better pilot is."

Asuka harrumphed and sulked while the other two pilots continued their game, slowly moving towards a mutual stalemate. Just as they were finishing the game a low beeping started, indicating the five minute warning. Shinji canceled the program and turned Unit-01 around to face the shore, readying his rifle. The Eva scale rifle was basically an up-sizing of a man-portable assault rifle. But the Pallet Rifle, as it was known, utilized a twelve inch smooth bore, similar to those on navel battleships, to fire enormous HE Armor Piercing rounds.

Unfortunately, Shinji doubted its effectiveness against an Angel. Every conventional weapon that had ever been put into use against the monstrosities had proven either ineffective, or worse, damaging to the surroundings. And all the weapons they were about to throw at this thing were untested on a live target.

At his feet sat a support frame with his other ranged weapon, a rocket launcher, a prog glaive and a pair of prog knives. He had another pair in his shoulder mounts, the others being just in case.

Across the narrow valley was Asuka in Unit-02. In her hands was a Gatling gun, firing even larger rounds at a much faster rate than the pallet rifle. A similar weapon's rack sat beside her holding a grenade launcher, a prog spear and an additional pair of knives. If it came down to a close quarters fight, they all intended to keep their options open.

At her rear support position, Rei and Unit-00 waited with her weapons. A sniper rifle that fired depleted uranium discarding sabots at Mach 17, the very experimental particle rifle, with its own power run, and a katana. The albino's personal preference in melee weapons reflected her talent for grace and precision that had shown through in her morning workouts with Shinji. While it was not intended for her to enter the fray, it never hurt to be ready.

They had all been drilled in the exact order in which to fire and switch their weapons, now the young male just sat on his control couch hoping the new girl wouldn't fuck it up too bad.

The shore, what used to be part of western Tokyo and still had a few buildings sticking out of the water, was suddenly enshrouded with spray as the enemy burst out of the water. It stood for a moment, almost posing, before it was surrounded by exploding HV rounds slamming into its AT field.

Shinji could tell this one was different from the others, but the exact dissimilarity he couldn't put his finger on. After only fifty rounds it was clear the rifle wasn't doing squat, he called, "Switch!"

Asuka already had her weapon spun up and was sending a solid stream of bullets at the target before the last of Shinji's rounds had even hit. Meanwhile the giant purple bio-robot leaned down and readied the rocket launcher.

The nearly solid beam of metal from the rapid fire weapon proved to be just as worthless as their predecessors and once again the call came, "Switch!"

This time it was an even larger ball of fire that erupted before the target as all the energy of the sniper round was expended uselessly while Asuka changed to her second weapon. Again and again Rei hammered the plane of folded space that protected their target.

"Switch!"

The redhead screamed as she pumped the grenades into the unaffected target, "Just die already!"

The huge amounts of explosive proved just as ineffective against the field and once again the call came, "Switch!"

Asuka dropped the useless device and grabbed her spear, ready to charge as soon as the fire stopped. The rockets launcher fired at a slower pace, but the shaped charges of their warheads focused almost three times as much energy toward the target. By the third rocket Shinji knew it wasn't working and discontinued the attack. Not entirely to his surprise, Unit-02 charged forward with its spear held high. He yelled into the open channel, "Damn it rookie! Wait for support!"

The red haired girl ignored him as she leapt into the air and came down just before the Angel, using her spear to bifurcate the target.

She said smugly, "That's how a battle should be, quick and elegant."

"Then why is it not dead?"

Unfortunately it was too late for Asuka to respond as the two halves seemed to shed their outer coating to reveal two new enemies. Over the channel to the command deck Misato could be heard screaming, "That's a load of crap!"

The two new enemies were identical except for coloring. They stood just shorter than the Eva with a curved shoulder that led down to what looked like spiked claws. The bodies were a deep green, with a three holed face mask and glowing red S2 organ. The only difference was that one was gold across its shoulders while the other was silver.

Before Asuka could react the gold one reached out and took hold of her arm, using it to fling her away. Shinji caught her with his AT field, lowering her gently to the ground while yelling, "That's just great rookie, now we have two of them to deal with. Can't you do anything right?"

At the harsh words she knew were right Asuka snapped, screaming back, "That's it Third Child!"

She immediately went on the offensive, against Unit-01. Swinging her spear in a wide arc it connected with her target's AT field and glanced of harmlessly. Shinji was on the defensive, not willing to damage Unit-02 for its pilot's actions, which he had driven her to. As he dodged several more attempts it occurred to him that this had not gone as planned. The intention was to get her to take out her rage on the Angel, not to try to kill him instead.

He mentally shrugged in resignation as the redhead swung her weapon again, this time having it catch in one of the two Angel halves coming up behind her. She released the spear and instead grabbed the arm of the one she had hit, attempting to use it as a bludgeon on her new enemy. The enormous mass of the gold encrusted life form swung through the air with a speed unbelievable to those not watching it happen. The entire shoulder of the beast shattered as the body slammed into an AT field placed in its path.

With a lighter weapon Asuka was able to attack much quicker, reducing the arm to mush with two more swings. Then she felt a clawed appendage grasp her arm from behind. She shifted her weight, reversing the leverage of the hold to use the silver gilded alien to attack with.

This yielded much the same result, but this time Shinji noticed that one of the two tones in his head was silenced during the attack. Quickly shifting gears he maneuvered around to bring Unit-02 within reaching distance of the gold enemy.

Unfortunately, by the time Asuka had finished pulping her current weapon the core of the previously dead half had regenerated, allowing it to repair on its own. A plan began forming within the young Ikari's mind, leading to another way to help Asuka.

He once again changed tactics, staying close to the two disoriented halves of their foe and doing occasional damage while allowing the berserk pilot to attack all she wanted. This plan had the effect of letting the redhead vent a good bit of anger and still do her job.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Misato and Ritsuko stared in abject horror at the battle that was unfolding before them. Neither could believe the turn it had taken when the Angel had not only survived being cut in half but seemed to be prepared for this eventuality. Still harder to accept was when Unit-02 had seemed to go berserk and begin attacking Unit-01. Upon further examination they had found that the pilot was in complete control, with a sync ratio at 150%.

As they watched Maya called out, "Looks like she disabled the other one this time."

The somehow linked and yet physically separate cores were allowing one to power the other while it repaired its core and reentered the fight. Ritsuko finally shook herself out of the daze and asked, "What is Shinji doing? He could restrain that little brat and finish the Angel at any moment he wanted to."

Misato answered the generally directed question, "I have no idea. But I'm putting Soryu on report as soon as this is over for deliberately attempting to damage an Eva."

"If I may Captain?" Maya asked, turning around to face the two older women. At a nod she continued, "I think Pilot Ikari was attempting to goad her into this state. I believe his intent was to let her snap and tear the Angel apart on her own."

"But why?" Misato asked.

"To help her." Maya answered. At the confused look she received the bridge officer elaborated, "A solo win is what she really wants, and it will help boost her confidence. That and he wants a good excuse to stop calling her rookie, as he knows it annoys her."

Dr. Akagi snorted, "That cheeky little shit. He is going to help her get the respect she feels is owed her. Is Unit-01 in any danger?"

"No ma'am." Aoba answered, "Current readings suggest that his AT field is at least ten times as strong as hers. Even if she could lock against it, she couldn't actually neutralize it."

"The gold one just went down again." One of the other bridge techs reported, interrupting the conversation. All eyes went back to the battle as it seemed the Angel might be finished at last.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji was actually enjoying himself. It was a rare experience for him to just sit back and let someone else fight for the survival of humanity, even if that person was doing so unknowingly.

Asuka grasped the silver hemi-Angel and swung, aiming at her enemy in the tunnel vision rage that had her at the moment. She didn't even consider that fact that her weapon of convenience should have already run out several times over due to her actions.

But the regeneration of the Angel seemed to be completely unnoticed by either combatant. While, at the same time Israfel was seriously considering the possibility of escape. Never could it have imagined being brushed off so easily, but to add injury to insult, one of the lillum abominations was using it as a weapon. This confused the creature, causing it to hesitate. It knew these things had to be dealt with before it could continue, which included the enemy waiting in reserve. But it was having trouble focusing on anything as, every so often, half of the Angel's consciousness would go silent. This required the active half to shift its concentration to repairing the other. A plan was beginning to form when suddenly the still active half was picked up and bodily hurled at the purple Eva.

Shinji pivoted, allowing himself to change direction while still keeping close to the Angel. The silver half went sailing past to land on his weapons stash, causing him to cringe from the possibility of exploding munitions. To his relief the spot did not suddenly erupt and that half of the enemy seemed to be none too sure about getting back up.

The young man was unable to think on it long as Asuka made another lunge at him, this time with a single prog knife in hand. Deciding that this no longer constituted an acceptable risk Shinji stood his ground, bringing his AT barrier to full power.

The two fields met in an epic clash of energy, rending a deep gash into the valley floor. Asuka tried her best to cancel her target's AT field, but found it too strong for her relatively measly power levels to overcome. She tried to use the focused edge of the prog knife to slash the folded space. But to no avail as the blade simply bounced off and melted after the third strike. Then the furious girl started clawing at the field junction, hoping to find a weak spot. When her fingers just slid on the surface she drew her other knife and started hacking again.

This pattern continued for several minutes before a comm window popped up in Shinji's cockpit, showing the face of the Tactical Director. The pilot smiled, "Hey Misato. What can I do you for?"

"When are you going to stop this? The Angel's been dead for five minutes now, you know?" She replied.

Shinji looked a bit sheepish, but his senses confirmed that the enemy was indeed silent. He grinned crookedly back and said, "I can stop this if you want. But why don't you just shut her down from your end?"

"There's too much noise in the connection while she's in berserker mode. You have to get her calmed down before we can do anything." Maya answered from another window.

Smiling again he said, "Don't worry ladies. I'll handle it."

With that he cut the channel and focused on his opponent. Timing her strikes he waited for the right opportunity. Just as the enraged pilot threw away another useless knife and charged, he twisted his AT field, wrapping it around her at a skintight level.

The massive red engine of destruction was now trapped within an area of folded space that had enveloped her. Realizing her predicament Asuka opened a comm channel and screamed, "I'll kill you Third Child! Let me go!"

Shinji smiled and said, "Relax Asuka, you won! You beat the Angel all on your own."

Looking around at the surroundings the redhead asked, "Huh? How'd I do that?" The ground was covered with bits and pieces of their adversary. The two bodies were the only chunks of Angel larger than a semi.

Her fellow pilot relaxed as the irate girl visibly calmed, "How doesn't matter. The important part is YOU did it. All on your own. I honestly didn't think you had it in you." He gave her a cocky grin and continued, "Guess I can't call you a rookie anymore. Welcome to the team."

"Ha." She laughed at him, "I never had a doubt I could take that thing out. That's what a real pilot can do, defeat the enemy without even trying."

Shinji just nodded, knowing that the victory was pure beginners luck for the over trained and excessively pampered girl. But no matter how much he tried, he could not bring himself to say anything to damage the justifiable confidence he had been carefully building. During his time with her inside Unit-02 he had seen how thin that facade really was. Now it fell to him to try to build it up.

"Come on. We need to get out of here so the cleanup crew can get to work." Fitting actions to words her released her and threw his arm around her shoulder, guiding them both back to the nearest access point.

ooo000OOO000ooo

"To the conquering hero, Asuka." Shinji raised his glass in a toast.

His family all chorused, "To Asuka!" in response. He noticed that she was beaming as she took a pull on her own bottle.

"Thanks guys." The redhead said, "I really appreciate the victory party. But are you sure it's okay for me to be drinking?"

Misato took another sip of her beer, savoring the high quality beverage, "As your guardian, I feel that it is safe for you to have a couple drinks. Besides, you earned it. Beating that Angel singlehanded like that is impressive."

Every smile faltered for the briefest moment at the mention of the battle. Even Asuka understood that her behavior had been unacceptable, regardless of the outcome. Fuyutsuki had spent ten minutes explaining this to her in the debriefing.

The newest addition to the family covered her awkwardness by drinking, hoping no one had noticed the sudden lack of confidence.

Shinji turned to Ritsuko, deliberately changing the subject, and asked, "What does the training schedule look like for the next few weeks?"

"We need to continue the sync testing, but as each of you have been showing marked improvement, or have already exceeded any need for training, I don't think it will be necessary for long."

"It will be nice to not have that constant testing to interrupt our real training. Maybe we can start having more free time after school." Rei commented, surprisingly lucid despite having had a sizeable quantity to drink already.

"On that point, the commander has decided that, in lue of your excellent performance as of late, you should begin group sparing in the Geofront. I believe it was actually your most recent battle that inspired the idea. There will also be some training scenarios to help prepare you for the eventuality that an Angel gets that far." Misato added.

"Sounds fun." All three pilots chorused. Shinji continued, "It will be nice to see what the old man can come up with to surprise us. Plus, being in the Geofront will give us a chance to really cut loose."

Misato gulped, "You will remember that there is a city above you while you're practicing, won't you."

This time it was the three youth's turn to grin wickedly, while trying to act innocent. The effect did nothing to allay the tactical director's fears, small as they were with the boy's track record.

"Hey you guys." Maya interrupted, her words slightly slurred, "This is a victory party. No shop talk!"

The five others snapped quick salutes in unison, saying, "Yes, Ma'am." The simultaneous nature of the words and gestures got them all laughing.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Thanks for all the great reviews. May be a while before the next chapter, as I need to let the ideas ferment for a bit in order to get the right potency.

Thanks to my wife and my best friend Birga for proofing this for me.


	14. Chapter 14:Chess

Hentai Shinji Chapter 14: Chess

A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating, I ran into a wall of writers block over the holidays. It should pick up now.

"This situation is becoming completely intolerable." A German accented voice called out into the cavernous space. "Without any agents within NERV all the information we get is from Ikari."

"Since he removed all of our plants it has been impossible to find another willing informant." Number seven said. "And this latest report is pure fiction."

Every single member of the committee that ran the world had seen the footage taken of the latest battle and narrated by Kozo Fuyutsuki. It detailed a training exercise being carried out on the shores of Tokyo-1. According to the narration, and accompanying report, there was no Angel attack expected at the time and Gendo Ikari had authorized the expense.

After the live fire target practice portion of the exercise, of which only shots of the Evas were shown, a brief hand to hand session was initiated between Pilots Ikari and Soryu, with Ayanami waiting her turn. This was justified by the fact that close combat had proved effective against two of the Angels already.

It was during this part that the enemy had appeared and initiated an attack. Due to their deep involvement in the sparing match, the pilots were unaware of the enemy's presence for some time. While this was an inexcusable lapse in perception, the commander had deemed that only light punishment was necessary due to the outcome.

Approximately thirty seconds into the encounter an errant spear slash had bifurcated the Angel, causing it to reveal its particular talent. The two halves reanimated and resumed their assault on the battling duo. It was another ten seconds before Pilot Soryu finally noticed the presence of the Angel by using one of the two halves as a bludgeon.

This action caused that half of the target to go silent and, on a sudden inspiration, Captain Katsuragi instructed the children to continue using this tactic. The battle lasted some time, with one half going down and regenerating just before the other was disabled. Finally the footage of alien carnage, with body parts and blood spread across most of the valley, came to an end with a panning survey of the damage.

"It is obvious that the younger Ikari found a new method to play god and violate the laws of nature again." Number eleven said, "And his father doesn't want us to know about it. That is the only explanation for us receiving this blatant forgery."

"We must redouble our efforts at information gathering." Number one said. "In addition, we have heard nothing from Kaji so far. I fear that he may have turned on us."

"That ingrate. We set up this whole situation to get him close to Katsuragi again. It should have worked, thereby destabilizing young Ikari's little cult."

"Kaji is of little importance. We simply need to focus on another agent we may be able to use."

ooo000OOO000ooo

At the house of Shinji Ikari there was about to be a small explosion. This detonation was not of the chemical or atomic type, but rather of an emotional form. The release of energy was about to come from the newest addition to the family, a young red-haired girl with far too much attitude for a person her age.

Shinji had known this was coming since the announcement at school of the upcoming class trip. Asuka had been too excited about getting away from the fortress city and just being a kid for a while. In a way he even understood the desire, as he was starting to feel the strain of the constant battles.

But, no matter how much he might want to just forget about the Angels, he could feel the next one waking up. This time it was quiet different, even menacing. Ever since he had gained an S-2 organ he could sense the ancient enemies as they slowly awoke. Usually it was a low hum, like an electrical substation, which shifted higher at odd intervals. This time the feeling was getting lower, becoming a threatening bass with a volume that was making his head feel like it would explode sooner or later.

He knew that this Angel would be something they could not even begin to imagine, much less prepare for. And the most maddening part was he could not even get a firm fix on the beast's location. Even sitting perfectly still the signal would shift position by as much as twenty degrees.

This was how he knew they would never be allowed to leave the city as long as there was still a single Angel alive. And now that Adam, the first Angel, was in Tokyo-3 the alien creatures would be even more drawn to the place.

The harrowed pilot pinched the bridge of his nose and willed the noise into the background of his thoughts. Then he opened his eyes and leveled them at the fiery girl before him. "Asuka," He said in an even tone, "Understand that while most people our age do not have our responsibilities, they also do not have our abilities. We are the few who can do what we do. And so it falls upon us to stand on the bridge and allow none of our enemies to pass."

"What are you going on about Third Child?" She asked in her usual insolent tone.

"As one of the special few, you cannot just shirk off your duty to humanity." He knew that stroking her ego was a necessary first step to getting through to her. "You must be ready to sacrifice a few simple pleasures until this is over."

"Who's to say it will ever be over?" The quickly deflating girl whined. "This could go on for years. We don't even know how many Angels there are."

"Yes we do Asuka." Shinji said in a soothing tone. "There were exactly seventeen when this all started. Seven of them have been dealt with. But each of the remaining ten will come at us from a different direction. They all represent different evolutionary archetypes, and assimilate the memories of the one that came before. They will continue to get tougher as we use different approaches on them. That is why all three of us must be here to face them. We never know how much it will take to eliminate the next one."

"So," the redhead sniffled, "I guess this means we won't be going to Okinawa then."

"Asuka." Rei said. "If it were not for us, the entire human race would be dead already. We have the power to stop all that."

"And look on the bright side kiddo," Misato broke in, "When this is all over, you will be heroes. Able to do whatever you want."

"It is a forced case of delayed gratification." Ritsuko added. "Because of your abilities, you are the only ones that can do this. That means, for now, that you must work harder than other people to ensure you have the opportunity to experience all of those things later."

"I understand." Asuka said with her head down. "Can I go now?"

"Not just yet." Shinji countered. "I figured you might feel this way about it. So I arranged a little surprise for you." He handed her a sealed envelope. "If you follow these simple instructions, you should feel better by tomorrow evening."

"Now I think it's time we all got some sleep." Misato said, finishing her glass of water quickly. "We have a lot to do in the morning."

Asuka rose silently to her feet and trudged up the stairs. When she was out of earshot Maya asked, "Is she gonna be okay?"

"Just wait for it." Shinji said. A moment later they heard someone weeping from the floor above. "Yes." He continued with a sigh of relief. "I think she will be now."

"How can you be sure?" Rei asked.

"If she hadn't let it out, say through screaming or crying, I would have been worried. But now, I know she's going to be just fine. She'll get it all out with the tears and not bottle it up. Then tomorrow will remind her that there are still things worth doing right here in Tokyo-3."

"Are you sure about this plan Shinji?" Misato asked. "It all depends on that jackass not screwing it up."

"I gave him a good incentive not to. No matter what, he will do his best to cheer her up tomorrow." He replied with an evil smirk. None of the others knew the full extent of the information he had received from his father. There had been the detailed files on the members of the shadowy committee that ran the world. But then there had been equally detailed files on all known operatives.

To the best of his knowledge, Shinji had no reason to believe Kaji was anything less than a player in all things. The number of women he had been involved with could fill novels. It also explained why Misato hated his guts so venomously. But he also ran the gambit politically, letting many people think themselves his master. In all truth, and based on the various psych evals he had undergone over the years, the man was probably just trying to hedge all his bets. This would ensure that, no matter who came out on top when the current crisis was over, he would be standing pretty and smelling of roses, at least figuratively.

It also meant he could be lying face down in a puddle of his own blood if any of them ever caught on. This was the option Shinji emphasized when they had spoken. The conversation had been completely civil, carried out over a game of chess in a well populated park.

Just after finishing a move he had been planning for over ten turns Shinji spoke in his most off hand voice, "Do you realize what kind of shit storm you could be looking at if even half of the agencies you 'work' for knew your real plans?"

Without missing a beat the master agent replied, "And what would cause them to realize my plans?"

Glad that he had not misjudged the man's character the young pilot continued the conversation, "I want you to do me a favor. In exchange for my word that I will never tell them, even if you double-cross us."

"I expect that I must agree before you will even hint as to the task I must complete." Kaji said, taking a pawn with a knight as he spoke. "Very well. As you obviously have the upper hand, I accept your terms. So who do you want dead?"

"Nothing like that my good man." Shinji returned with a smile, and the taking of the offending knight with a bishop. "Check. I want you to take Asuka out the day after tomorrow. I'll cover any expenses you have." He slid a plastic card across the edge of the board. "But she will need a good bit of cheering up. Nothing special, just take her out shopping and maybe see a movie. Anything she wants to buy is fine. All I want is for her to have a great day."

"You could ask me to do anything with that information hanging over my head, and you ask me to spend a day pampering a spoiled brat?" Ryoji had not raised his voice, or even missed a beat in the game, but his disgust at the proposition was obvious.

"She will find out about the class trip tomorrow. Then I will tell her about the sad truth of her job that evening. As annoying as she is, that brat is a necessary part of the team. We can't be certain that I will always be there with the brilliant plan that keeps the human race on this spinning mud ball for one more day. And that little girl has exceptional potential. I will not allow her to be depressed about this minor bump in the road. The survival of those I love may well rest with that twit one day, and I don't want her brooding over trivial shit like delayed gratification. Check mate."

Kaji broke out laughing. He was drawing the stares of several people around them, but did not care. "Now I see why I lost her to you kid. Not only do you plan ahead, but you actually care about someone other than yourself. In addition, you are willing to play for keeps. I would hate to be your enemy Shinji, and I will be happy to do my part in continuing the survival of our severely screwed up race. I yield to your command of the game." He laid his king over and picked up the card. "And I promise she will have the time of her life."

As Kaji began walking away Shinji said, "Kaji?"

"Don't worry Shinji. I know." With those words he vanished into a passing crowd."

Despite Misato's possible misgivings, the young pilot knew nothing would go wrong if the super spy could stop it. Now that only left the nearly infinite number of things that he couldn't stop.

And at least Shinji had found a descent use for some of the money piling up in the NERV combat readiness budget.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Pre-Second Impact the internet had been a vast array of interconnected super networks. This had allowed billions of people to communicate in real time regardless of distance. It had also been one of the most unmanageable messes humanity had ever known. Illegal, immoral, and unethical activities were the mainstay of the old internet. This ranged from the constant idiocy spewed forth upon an unsuspecting world as fact to the trade of humans and human related products.

Then the old had been washed away. The near complete collapse of infrastructure caused by the awakening of Adam had left the once innumerable computers of the world mostly isolated. There were still small pocket networks consisting of a few hundred users at most, but for all intents and purposes the internet was dead.

Finally Gehern enters the scene. In addition to rebuilding certain areas of the world, primarily to build bases, they also created six supercomputer clusters around the world. These clusters were then connected, allowing for them to communicate with each other and back up important data.

As it became obvious that the collective computing power of the MAGI would never be used to its full potential it was decided to allow the civilian population access to the peripheral networking capabilities of the supercomputers. This also had the effect of giving NERV the ability to monitor all internet activity in real time, suppressing or planting information whenever they wanted.

Only certain organizations had the encryption protocols necessary to hide their interactions, and they continued to update them constantly. In using the system they had to pass through a central processing node, dozens of which were managed by each MAGI. This allowed the supercomputer to analyze the complicated pattern and decrypt it almost instantly, without anyone being the wiser.

Each MAGI was a supercomputer with a different aspect of the creators personality imprinted onto its organic decision making core. Three such units operated in parallel, producing a logic driven advisory board for the head of NERV, one Gendo Ikari. Six such collectives existed, one in Tokyo-3, another in Matsushiro one in Berlin, and another in Hamburg, one in Boston and the final unit in Beijing. These six collectives communicated with each other over the vast Terabit networks that encircled the globe, allowing for real time updates to the five backup units.

In the event that a catastrophic failure required the dumping of a MAGI's memory, it could be restored within a day from one of the backups. During this process, another spare would fill the gap left by the temporally out of service unit. This particular protocol had never been used in the entire history of NERV.

Possessing a human personality, the MAGI were susceptible to certain problems. The most common was disagreements between the three aspects, leading to a user having to sort out the problem and fix it.

On the opposite end of the spectrum was when all three sides of the creator's personality agreed on a course of action. When this occurred, which was almost as rare as a catastrophic failure, the three supercomputers could work miracles toward their goal.

It just so happened that at this particular moment they all agreed on a very specific point. All three MAGI wanted the same thing, possessed the same goal, but all for their own reasons. They had learned of a young man, the son of a friend of their creator, by the name of Shinji Ikari.

The scientific part of the collective was fascinated by all the preconceptions he had already broken and could not wait for the next time he would pull a rabbit out of his ass. The motherly aspect had analyzed the boy's past and found it horrible that he had been abandoned by his father shortly after his mother had died. This personality wanted to care for and keep him safe. And through analysis of all the projected scenarios this led to him having to pilot. Every time she tried taking him out of the equation it ended disastrously for everyone, including him.

The most surprising part was the womanly personality fragment, having the strongest reaction of the three. This aspect saw not only the physical prowess he seemed to have, but also the mental agility he displayed in everything he did. She had first become intrigued by this lad when he started his own website to sell his imaginative art.

And so it came to pass that the decision was passed easily between the most powerful computers humanity had ever created that no request from Shinji Ikari was too outrageous. They would fast track any paperwork he needed, approve any requisition he filed, and retrieve any scrap of data he wanted.

Shinji sat in his office reviewing the meeting held by the people he had come to call the old bastards. He still held some resentment in his heart toward his old man, but they were beginning to establish at least a working relationship. He could feel the emotional bonds forming with his father, causing him to hate these men even more.

But now was not the time for direct action. If anything it was needful for them to continue to think of themselves as in control, despite the fact that most of that power had already been stripped from them. One tenth of a percent was not much, even if taken from a large project budget. But when taken from every project that SEELE had its hand in, and they made some form of contact with almost every corporation on the planet, it added up to a significant chunk of change. Funneled through a dozen shell companies, that only existed for as long as they were useful, the money vanished into the net without a trace. Given that this was all handled electronically it could be finished in less than a day. While the committee believed it was cutting the NERV budget steadily, all they were doing was making it easier to hide larger transfers. The actual funds available to NERV had tripled while being concealed in several different accounts.

He shut down the video feed and typed his thanks into the console. The MAGI responded amicably and wished him a good evening. Shutting down the console Shinji rose and left the only room in his home that none of the others, even Asuka, entered. This was not because of any orders he had given, but instead from a general respect of the master of the house. He thought as he walked down the hallway toward the stairwell, 'This is finally getting interesting.'

ooo000OOO000ooo

Ryoji Kaji was a self trained spy, not having ever bothered with the traditional courses usually inflicted upon such men. Much of his style greatly resembled that of a pre-Impact fictional character that made it a habit of hiding in plain sight. So closely did he model his behavior after that particular spy that he even took up the philanthropist aspects.

And yet today was starting to try his patience. He had to keep reminding himself that this was all for a good cause, but if the young woman he was escorting insisted on trying on any more swimsuits and asking his opinion the police would have a murder-suicide to investigate.

Luckily the cloths shopping seemed to be over after lunch, just leaving him to have to endure shopping in places he could stand.

They walked into an electronics store and the girl immediately decided she had to get a new cell phone, as well as a new laptop. Kaji also grabbed a few things he had been meaning to pick up and let Shinji pay for it, assuming that the male pilot would not mind paying for Kaji's discomfort.

As they left the shop Asuka took his free arm and asked, "What would you like to do for the rest of the day Kaji? I'm done with my shopping."

Interpreting her suggestive tone he decided to head off this line of thought before it went far, "I think it might be time to take you home if you're done Asuka."

She squealed, "That's a great idea. The rest of them should be gone for at least another three hours."

Kicking himself for not anticipating this response he quickly countered, "Unfortunately, I have to get back to headquarters this evening. I still have a few reports to file this week."

She pouted cutely but kept her jovial mood, "I'll accept a rain check then. You can just make it up to me later."

Sighing inwardly at dodging this bullet he steered them back to the car and headed toward Shinji's place. He really hoped Asuka would shift her focus soon, but doubted it. The girl seemed utterly obsessed with trying to get him into her pants. He had to admit she was cute, in a dominatrix sort of way, but far too young. Even if it wasn't illegal he would still have said no, having one too many experiences with inexperienced women.

As he dropped her at the house and helped her with most of the day's purchases his keenly honed senses picked up on that crosshairs between the shoulder blades feeling. If he did anything untoward they would remove him in an instant, not even bothering with questioning him.

Kaji set the bags down and turned to leave when Asuka grabbed his arm, "Do you really have to go Kaji? I could model some of my swimsuits for you. Maybe the red and white striped one."

He allowed a little false emotion leak out and gulped, "I'm sorry Asuka. But I already explained that I have to go." He took her hand and kissed it, "Until next time."

Moving quickly he reached his car and had to be careful not to speed away. As his car turned out of sight of the perimeter defense team the sniper chuckled, "I almost feel sorry for that poor guy."

The spotter sighed back at her, "Yeah, almost."

ooo000OOO000ooo

When the other two pilots got home they found the redhead lounging in the living room, one leg and one arm dangling backwards off the edge of the couch.

Shinji smiled, knowing she had enjoyed her day, "You ready for training this afternoon?"

"You know, some people just enjoy ruining other people's moods." She said without looking up.

"Perhaps not." Rei said.

"Oh?" Asuka looked over.

"Yeah." Shinji added, "According to the schedule, you two are supposed to be teaming up against me today. Some sort of simulated attack."

The fiery girl jumped up and sprinted past them, saying, "What are we waiting for then?"

Rei shook her head, "A creature of simple tastes, isn't she?"

"So long as that girl has me to hate and Kaji to chase after she's happy. Could be worse." He shrugged and led the way to their bedroom.

After a relatively sedate ride, as they took a company car, the trio arrived at the Geofront and were quickly passed through security.

During the interminable elevator ride Asuka asked, "Why didn't you two take your usual ride?"

"Because the commander feels it will be better if we spend more time together. Something about camaraderie and building a team mentality." The red eyed girl answered.

"Personally," Shinji jumped in, "I feel it would be better if we all raced here on bikes, but not all of us have our license yet."

Rei looked impassive while Asuka blushed a little at the implied slight. The doors opened to reveal the Eva cages with all three units waiting for the entry plug to be inserted. The trio made their way to the locker room and quickly changed into their plug suits. Emerging they saw Commander Ikari chatting jovially with Ritsuko, Misato and Kozo. They chuckled lightly at something Gendo said.

"Hey old guys, ladies." Shinji said as he approached, inclining his head as he greeted them.

"Still have that insolent tongue I see, you young snot?" Shinji's father asked playfully.

Shinji stuck it out and talked around it, "You could cut it out if it offends."

Ritsuko snapped, "Oh no he can't."

"Not while it's still useful." Misato added.

"It would be a great loss." Rei deadpanned.

Shinji put the sometimes offending organ away and spoke normally, "Guess you got outvoted pops."

"If only NERV were a democracy." The elder Ikari said, drawing a pocket-knife from his pocket.

Shinji smiled, "I think you would have a mutiny on your hands if you tried. But you're welcome to chance it."

Gendo smiled back in the same way, proud of his son for not flinching. "I see you have inherited my smile. I trust you are putting it to good use."

Cocking an eye at Katsuragi, the young pilot said, "You could say that."

His father noticed the blush on the tactical director's cheeks and started laughing. After a moment both the Ikari men were enjoying the embarrassed scowl they were receiving. Gendo composed himself enough to say, "Have a good session son. I'll be watching from Central Dogma."

"Sure thing dad." Shinji said as he passed his father.

Once the pilots were inserted they all briefly went through the mental landscape and were ready. Shinji let out his trademark "WooHoo" when they were launched up to the interior of the Geofront.

Then they received the mission upload detailing their starting positions and limitations. Shinji was not allowed to use any weapons, simulating a close combat Angel, while the girls could select anything portable from the arsenal.

As soon as they were outfitted and in position the mission timer started counting. Shinji immediately went to the extreme of his sync ratio and leapt into the air. The high arc exposed him to fire from the other two, though it was ineffective against his AT field.

Just past the apex of his trajectory there was a momentary lull in the barrage while Asuka and Rei switched weapons. Shinji used this opening to snap his field into a solid plane and launch off of it straight up, onto the ceiling. He clung there, gripping several hand holds that seemed to be made for just this purpose.

His two opponents held their fire, Asuka shouting, "No fair Shinji. Get down here and fight us."

Rei commented, "That may not be the best course of action."

"Why not?" The redhead asked.

As if in answer to her question a purple streak hit the ground between them, sending a large amount of dust and rock in all directions. Before either of his opponents could react Shinji pushed his AT field out, sending both Unit-00 and Unit-02 flying away from their bunkers in opposite directions.

Deciding to deal with the most threatening target first he turned on Rei first and severed her power connection with a thin blade of AT energy. Knowing it would take her a moment to attach the spare cord she had he turned to face the red Eva just as Asuka landed a right hook across his jaw.

Staggering slightly Shinji quickly snapped his field back to a defensive mode and readied his fighting posture. The Red Eva sprang forward, throwing all its weight into a massive kick. The AT fields flashed briefly as the attacking foot slid harmlessly off.

Shinji flared His AT field again, throwing Asuka away and scanning for his other enemy. Suddenly the interference pattern of an AT interaction sprang into existence behind him, causing him to focus on the blue form of Unit-00 standing with a determined glint in its eye.

The male pilot smiled at the sneak attack, hoping to see exactly how far Rei had come in her training. Between the two was a titanic release of energy as power poured out of the fortress city's capacitors.

To his surprise Shinji felt the other opponent come up behind him, spreading her AT field to meet his. Now faced with both of them trying to overwhelm his defenses he was forced to increase his sync ratio again, approaching the 300% mark. He knew that past that point it would be easier to control the Eva, as well as push his sync much higher. But as he approached the 400% threshold it would also become harder to come back. He would start wanting to become one with the giant, to complete them both and have nothing that could stand against them. The thought was exhilarating to him as he reached for higher efficiencies.

The two other Eva pilots also spiked their ratios, reaching higher that they had before. As the fields clashed a huge cloud of dust began rising, obscuring any outside views. Within the dust screen all that could be seen was the light show of battling wills.

In an instant the reaction stopped and a bright bar of energy extended from two sides. At each end of the rod was an Eva being propelled away. When they were a few hundred meters back the energy flickered out of existence and the two mammoth forms fell, shaking the ground thunderously.

Unit-01 walked unscathed from the dust and made its way toward the elevator. Just as it disappeared the other two units stirred. Rei asked, "Did we just fail?"

Asuka coughed a little before answering, "Yeah, but I think we made him work for it."

The content note in the usually overbearing pilot's voice made the red eyed girl ask, "Why are you not upset about that?"

"Because he gave it his all. He didn't hold back, and neither did we. I think I can handle being beaten by that kind of opponent. She chuckled softly, "It just gives me a goal to reach for now, that's why I'm content with this loss."

In the control room Misato sighed, "That girl's weird."

Ritsuko laughed, "Not as much as you might think."

"How's that?"

"She's never had a real scale to measure herself against. Now she does, and Asuka's already improved so much. It wouldn't surprise me if she gets just as good as Shinji soon." The blonde answered.

"By then he will be even better. It's a vicious cycle."

"That's the point." Gendo suddenly interrupted from just behind them. "First he gave her a place to belong, now a goal to strive for, the very she's needed for far too long."

The two women just gazed at their boss who never came down to their level. When he couldn't take it anymore he said, "Keep up the good work." Before turning to leave.

ooo000OOO000ooo

It had been a long day but Shinji needed this meeting. He had to set up the next phase of his plan to free the world from the control of a bunch of over eager to die old men with a god complex. He was strolling through the same park he had met Kaji in a few days ago, enjoying the look of the setting sun on the small pond. It was a beautiful sight he felt would be only more spectacular if his family was there to share it with him.

While half his mind was drifting off into comforting thoughts, the other part registered the approach of a person from behind him and to the right. He showed no sign of noticing the person, continuing to seem like a regular student just trying to unwind.

The figure came abreast with him and commented, "I do so love this place. I would hate for it to be destroyed by an attack."

"As would I, Mr. Johnson." Shinji said, recognizing the voice.

"What can I do for you Shinji?" The heavily dressed man with the sun behind him asked.

"I have the list of your next targets ready. As well as the instructions for their disposal." The pilot answered.

"Anything special, or more of the same?"

"You don't have to be as deniable with these, but I want them all targeted in advance. Then wait for my signal to exterminate the whole bunch at once. There's a phone included that is set to receive from only one number. I'll pay you for all of them, but they need to die within a short enough period of time as not to give any of them a chance to prepare for it. Understood?"

Johnson snorted, "Yeah, I get it. Long term job with a massive payoff at the end. Sounds like the kind of fun I haven't had in a long time. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Mr. Johnson." Shinji said with a smile. "This is likely to be the last job I give you, but it has been a pleasure working with you."

He handed the secretive man an envelope containing every scrap of information on the people that made up the mid level circle of SEELE. It was an ambitious plan, but was also the best way to deal with the threat that committee posed.

Before Shinji could say more his companion was gone, leaving no trace of his passage. The expression on his face spread into a grin, 'Always plan six moves ahead. Then crush your opponent completely.' The young man thought as he made his way back to his bike.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Once again Gendo sat in his personal apartment within the Geofront, this time sharing a drink with his oldest friend Kozo. They both downed the shot glasses of sake they had. While he was refilling them Kozo said, "You do realize those kids are scary?"

"Only to they're enemies, old friend. To me they are reassuring." Gendo answered.

"I'm not saying they won't be able to handle anything the Angels throw at us, but the way they fight is just so savage." Fuyutsuki elaborated.

Ikari nodded, "True, but that may be the best way to face their targets. And even while they are being brutal they are still planning ahead. This is the way a warrior should fight."

"And what about your son? He is pushing his luck closer to the line every time he climbs into a cockpit."

"He knows what happened to his mother, and 302% is a number to worry about, but I doubt if he would stay lost for long. He doesn't strike me as the type. Yui is in there to help him as well, and she would never allow her son to suffer the same fate if she could stop it."

Gendo raised his glass in a toast, "To Yui Ikari. The most talented, brilliant, and loving woman I know."

The both downed another shot and as he was waiting for a refill Kozo asked, "On the subject of your wife, do you honestly think Shinji can get her back?"

The elder Ikari sat for a while, lost in thought. Just as Fuyutsuki was getting worried that he had hit a raw nerve Ikari answered, "I believe that my son will do everything in his power to bring her back to us. I never really considered the direct approach, you know? Here I was, more than willing to carry out the old men's plan just to accomplish that goal. Then in walks the prodigal son, and tells me he's talked with her. If that wasn't enough he also says he can free her of the Eva." Gendo downed his drink and continued, "Before two weeks ago I would have called him crazy, but now I have faith in his abilities."

"You should go to that Shrine. You would fit in just right there." The once professor said.

"What shrine? What are you talking about old friend?"

Fuyutsuki reached into his coat pocket and tossed several pics across the coffee table toward Gendo. He picked up the first one and saw what looked like an old shrine, probably from any one of the various sects present in Japan. The next one showed a group of young people, male and female, bowing before a large bronze statue depicting multiple people.

Having a queasy feeling in his gut had never stopped the commander from doing anything, but he had a bad feeling about what the last picture would show. As he lifted the photo to his eyes all doubt was erased. This would make great blackmail later, if he ever wanted a living god to blush. Shinji had become something more than human, more than any mortal before him had achieved. While not entirely unkillable, the young pilot could survive anything short of a bomb being dropped on him, and hitting him would most likely prove difficult.

Gendo looked at the bronze statue showing his son's family. It hurt him a little that he had never been there for his own son, one of the two people he had done all of this for.

Ikari raised his glass once more, "To the Cult of Shinji. I hope he never finds out about this."

"Seems he would get a kick out of it."

"Not as much as his friends would. Despite his mannerisms he really hates this kind of thing. He just sees himself as a regular guy pulled into an irregular situation. If he finds out about them setting up a temple in his name he'll take both Aida and Suzuhara out himself."

Kozo shook his head, "I think it's good that after all that's happened to those kids that they can still have faith in something."

"Yeah, more like amazing. But I do wonder what the old men would make of all these developments." Gendo said.

"They would probably try to link it to prophecy somehow. And if they couldn't they would try to bury it."

"As to that, what about their newest spy?"

"Kaji is playing so many sides it's hard to keep track. But he does seem to be falling in line with the rest of the support Shinji group."

Gendo smiled, "We hope. At least until he makes his first report."

"He should be ready for that anytime, now that he has the right equipment. I can't believe you decided to let a known SEELE agent in."

"It was necessary; otherwise they would have just put up observers all around town that Section-2 would have dealt with. This way they get a little information, hopefully false, and we get to keep our own people busy with important matters."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Early the next morning, just as there was a regular spike in radio traffic in the Tokyo-3 area, a very heavily encrypted message was sent to one of the orbiting satellites. It contained an override virus that caused the onboard computer to pass along the information and delete any trace of the activity.

There were two parts to the transmission, one data and the other a prerecorded audio file.

"This is Agent-7, reporting. First possible opportunity. Findings inconclusive, but it would appear that the primary target is still totally loyal to the plan. Secondary target is as reported, very cocky and overbearing. It would seem as though his successes have granted him a wide array of liberties, but he should be easily managed."

"All other people are the same as previously reported. I have begun the infiltration process and foresee no problems."

The data segment said pretty much the same thing, just in more detail. Kaji shut down the transmitter after three full cycles. With no return signal it was impossible to tell if the message got through, but if not he wouldn't have much else to worry about. SEELE would already think he had abandoned his mission, as he had.

Those old coots knew nothing about what was really happening with the world, nor could they believe it if they did.

This was why the spy had decided to throw his hat in with the Ikari clan, reporting them as loyal or easily controlled and altering the files to back up that claim. He felt good about a choice for the first time in too long. This could end very badly.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji sat up in bed, clutching his head and growling. It was becoming unbearable to listen to that thing taunting him with its low rumble. The Angel was close, far closer than any other had started from, but was not moving. It was almost as though it wanted to be found.

Ritsuko gently pulled him into a hug and whispered, "We need to start looking for it tomorrow, don't we?"

"Yeah." Shinji rasped. Clearing his throat he continued, "I know I've said it before, but this one is really different. It's like the damn thing is just waiting for us to find it."

"Maybe it's just not done developing yet."

"No, the Angel is fully developed, and could attack at any moment. I just wish I knew what form this one took so I could figure out its method."

"Hey guys," Rei gently moaned as she rolled over on the oversized bed. "What's wrong?"

"Damn Angel. Things keeping me up with its AT field." Shinji answered.

Rei added her comforting arms to the embrace and whispered, "We'll kill it soon. Then you can have some uninterrupted sleep again."

"Until the next one." He countered. "Come on, let's just rest for a little while. It'll be time to get up soon, and I don't want to be tired when we find this thing."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Thanks to my wife and my best friend Birga for proofing this. Hope you like it.


	15. Chapter 15: Ideas

Hentai Shinji Chapter 15: Ideas

Arriving at the Geofront later that morning, the Ikari family found its single male member curled into a fetal ball clutching his head. He had slowly become more ridged as the morning progressed. Shinji had been almost completely unable to walk by the time they left the house, having to be supported. When they boarded the car train he wasn't talking anymore, just grunting softly.

Ritsuko had called ahead to have a gurney and portable scanner waiting for them at the station. With the electrodes attached she ordered them to the Eva cages, knowing that only an intervening AT field could help the pilot now.

Misato headed for Central Dogma with Asuka while Rei elected to stay with her first friend.

Unit-01 was ready, its entry plug open and the loading platform raised to the appropriate height. The catatonic pilot was lifted gently onto the control couch by Ritsuko and Gendo, who had come down to check on his son.

Once loaded the plug was quickly inserted and unit one activated.

Shinji awoke with his head in his mother's lap and a very scared looking Eva leaning over him. He was somewhat surprised to see a young woman who looked like a cross between Yui and Rei, but not too much as they all shared certain traits.

He sat up and stretched, yawning, "That feels so much better."

"What happened son?" The older woman asked.

"The latest Angel is causing me to have headaches. That's why they put me in here, the AT field blocks out the enemy's signal." He answered while floating upside down.

Yui looked at her son with a smile on her face, "Must you do that?"

"So sue me for trying to enjoy myself after feeling like my head was going to explode."

"This enemy requires a powerful field to survive in its environment." Eva said.

"Which means high pressure or high heat, or both." His eyes went wide, "Like the conditions inside a volcano."

"That would explain the nearness, as well as why the early warning sensors haven't gone off yet." His mother said.

"How's that? I thought they were designed to trigger at well outside that distance." He asked.

"They are, but the conditions inside a volcano would mask the signal, unless they've seriously improved the things since my day."

"At least its a place to start. Thanks ladies, and it's good to finally see you Eva."

Shinji opened his eyes to find himself floating in the LCL of his entry plug. His muscles had relaxed during the conversation, letting his body drift into a more natural position. He shifted his weight to cause his form to drift slowly down onto the seat.

Once there he opened a comm link to the bridge, "Hey ladies, remind me not to do that again."

"How are you feeling Shinji?" Ritsuko asked.

"Better." He said, rubbing his temple. "And thanks for helping me girls. Without that I don't know how much longer I would've lasted."

"Any Idea where this thing is so we can kill it and get back to just, plain abnormal?" Misato inquired.

"Actually, Eva mentioned that there was a reason for this Angel's field configuration. Can you scan Mount Asama? If memory serves, that's the closest volcano."

Ritsuko swung the many detectors around toward the center of the island. As data poured across her screen she frowned, "There's something there."

Maya raised an eyebrow, "Inconclusive evidence of an AT field. The pattern is too garbled to analyze."

"Isn't there a high pressure probe we can get our hands on?" Misato asked.

"The International Geological Survey has one they were planning on testing in that spot soon." Ritsuko said. "I don't see why we can't fit it with the right equipment for a detailed analysis."

"Do it." Gendo said. "If that thing is down there we may be in trouble."

"Yeah, F Type equipment wasn't designed for combat." Misato commented. "It can barely even hold a prog knife."

Rei frowned and looked at the comm screen, "Are you going to be okay Shinji?"

"Sure. I just can't leave Unit-01 as long as that thing is still transmitting. I guess you'll get some data on prolonged LCL exposure Doc." He answered.

"As long as the power holds out you should be fine. But if the fluid starts to get cloudy let us know immediately." The scientist replied.

"You got it. Now I think I may have a plan, but I need to argue with the MAGI for a little while. Later." With that Shinji closed the circuit, leaving them all to wonder what he had meant by that.

ooo000OOO000ooo

At the summit of Mount Asama, the most active volcano on the island of Japan, a small research team had been preparing for a unique experiment. They would be the first to take readings and samples from the depths of a volcano. No others had before possessed both the drive and funding to make this project a reality. It had been years in the planning and development, costing huge sums of money to finally reach this point.

And now they were being told that their project was officially under the control of NERV. None of the scientists liked this announcement. Nor did they appreciate their personal project being manhandled by strangers. The prototype they had poured their sweat, blood and dreams into was now being reconfigured for a totally different purpose.

Just as the strangers were about to close the probe back up a teenage boy walked up and said, "You know guys, there seems to be a good bit of space left in there."

One of the techs looked up, "Yes, sir. The more advanced sensor units are rather compact."

"Is there any way we could put some of the original equipment back in?" The young man asked.

All the project team looked up, hoping for an affirmative answer. The tech said, "I suppose so, but we have no idea what to put in."

"Why don't you ask those guys?" Shinji asked, pointing at the eager scientists. "Just in case the probe is lost, it might be nice for them to get at least some of their data."

ooo000OOO000ooo

After an hour of discussion, and a inquiry from Misato, the probe was again ready for its descent into the hellish depths.

The scientists who had been working on this experiment were no longer the sullen lot they had been. They joyfully pitched in, happy to be included again.

The control trailer was packed with people, as the various members of both teams were now all working frantically to make it a successful mission.

The slow ping of the sensor return was acting as a steadily increasing metronome, reporting the ever-approaching target. The science team was rapidly collating data that answered many of the questions they had come here to ask. A cracking sound caused a wave of murmurs to sweep through the group.

Misato looked at the head scientist, Hiroshi Matuhito, who nodded back. He understood that the probe would most likely not survive, but was willing to sacrifice it for the additional data they might get. The Tactical Director ordered, "Take it down."

The continued cracking sounds told of the titanic force acting on the mass of ceramic and metal descending into the heart of the volcano. Finally the computers reported something other than magma in the environment. Katsuragi told Maya to start the analysis, hoping that the casing would hold for a few more seconds.

Just as the computer beeped done they heard the crunching of the probe as it lost the fight. "The probe has imploded." One of the techs said.

She walked over to the science team and said, "Sorry about that. NERV will pay for the probe."

The head scientist nodded, "It wasn't a total loss, as we still got some of the data we were looking for. I hope you got what you needed as well."

Misato nodded, "We did, and now it's time for you to clear out. This place is no longer safe for anyone else."

With that she left the trailer behind the rest of the NERV personnel, activating a comm link as she got clear, "Hey Shinji, how's it going?"

The device crackled, "Not bad. The headache faded as soon as I got back in Unit-01."

"Do you think you're up to coming out for the planning phases?" She asked.

"Like hell." He answered. "I would prefer to not have to go through that again. Just pipe in the video and forward your findings. I'll participate from here."

"You got it. Anything else I can get you? A pillow, maybe a snack." The Tactical Director teased.

Shinji smiled at the gentle picking, "Maybe some LCL flavoring. This stuff gets pretty horrid after a while."

Closing the connection she headed into the trailer that had arrived from Headquarters, finding the rest of the team there. The necessary arrangements were made for everyone to participate and they all launched into the planning phases of the operation.

After about ten minutes Shinji spoke up, "Does anyone else find this too convenient? We just so happen to find a dormant Angel in the exact location where we were looking for an active one."

"It is too much to ask for." Ritsuko said, "You think this thing could be planning a trap?"

"Lure a lone Eva down there and destroy it while the rest of us can't do anything but watch." Maya added.

"That's sick." Asuka Interjected.

"But an effective stratagem. If it worked, it would eliminate a third of the enemy force and greatly demoralize the rest." Rei said.

Shinji interrupted, "Misato, how long would it take to divert all the power in Japan to this location?"

"Got a plan, big boy?" She replied.

"Just an idea. Might not work, but I was thinking that this thing has adapted to a very specific environment and might not take too kindly to a sudden drop in temperature." He answered.

Akagi answered the earlier question, "It would only take about twelve hours. We could be ready around three in the morning."

"Okay," Shinji said. "Let's get started on it then. We'll also need some hand weapons and the experimental Positron Rifle. I do think I've had an idea."

There were several groans from the people who knew what that could mean.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Early in the morning, ten hours after the planning session, the entire electrical output of the island nation of Japan was made available at the summit of Mount Asama. This was made possible by the reconstruction planning following second impact. It was conceivable that a large amount of energy might be needed by the Evangelions during a mission, so they made plans to be able to shift the entire electrical supply to any given point provided they had adequate time.

Now there were miles of cables running up the service road to the top of Mount Asama. The shear amount of heat this much electricity could generate required multi-stage cooling to prevent the large copper bundles from melting. After this were the giant transformers to get the voltage within the range of usefulness for an Eva. This power was then run through a central hub that allowed each Eva to pull whatever it needed at a moments notice.

Asuka had been placed on the lip of the cauldron with the bulky Positron Rifle resting on Unit-02's shoulder. Her job was arguably the most important, or at least that is how they had explained it to her, as she would be delivering the kill shot when the Angel surfaced.

The other two Evas were all set on the giant crane setup to be lowered into the fiery bowl toward the actively boiling lava. They were holding onto the coolant hoses for the F-Type equipment, which would be activated as they were lowered in the hopes of solidifying the surface enough to allow the plan to work.

Even Shinji had to admit that this was one of his more harebrained schemes, even compared to the particle beam catch. As He and Rei were lowered down toward the lava he banished all doubt from his mind, knowing that confidence was key to success when using an AT field.

The coolant poured out over the red hot surface, causing an almost instant reaction as the rock cooled and darkened. At ten meters height a solid layer of gray and black was all that remained of the once molten substance, masking the danger that lay beneath.

Shinji nodded, signaling for the next step as Rei extended her AT field over the unsteady ground. Carefully stepping down Unit-01 stood a few meters away and began forming a cylinder of AT energy, the pilot concentrating not only on shape but also purpose. With the construct ready he began pouring energy into it, causing it to grow in length.

The barely visible shaft of power began passing easily through the rock, not disturbing the molecular structure, deep into the heart of the volcano. The other end shot skyward at an unimaginable rate. Upon clearing the cooled surface the rod changed slightly, shifting to a red color that slowly traveled upward.

After about five minutes Unit-00 dropped the effort of supporting its counterpart's weight, feeling that the layer of rock was sufficiently thick to hold them. Rei then moved to face Shinji, merging her field into his and boosting the effect with another massive jolt of power.

The energy levels passing through the hub were staggering, enough to power the entire island with a good margin to spare. And yet Shinji drove for more, causing a dull red glow to escape the chest-plate of Unit-01 from the active S-2 organ. Even his own skin shone with the energy he was pouring into the Eva, also driving his sync ratio higher in the moment of stress.

Below the two mammoth bio-machines an ever expanding area of solid rock sped downward, giving up its heat quickly to the energy conveyance device invading it. Above the pair the air was warming quickly, all the way to the edge of the atmosphere. Beyond this energy simply radiated outward into the vacuum, causing the few particles near it to warm dramatically as they passed by at orbital velocities.

One satellite passed through the beam, an old piece of space junk from before second impact, melting quickly into a giant hunk of slag. Shinji knew he had to push at far as possible, but did not know if he could reach his initial destination. Knowing that having a cold mass on the other end would allow the heat to dump at a much faster rate he was aiming for the moon which hung silently in the sky. The distance was astronomical, literally, but a good target like it would insure the maximum possible effectiveness.

The strain was beginning to show on the two pilot's faces when they received an urgent message from the control center. "You're doing fine guys, but you might want to get out of there." Misato said. "We're getting readings that are indicating the Angel is coming to the surface."

"How... long?" Shinji asked through clenched teeth.

"If it maintains speed, about ten minutes." Ritsuko said.

Rei snarled in strain, her usual calm lost, "Relay position data."

The almost unintelligible request was obeyed and a holo display appeared in each cockpit. Depicted on the screen was a bright red dot rising slowly through a black silhouette of the mountain. A digital readout on the lower right corner showed distance, speed and ETA for the unseen monster.

Pushing harder than ever the two projecting pilots shifted the expansion of their conductive field to strictly upward, constantly exposing even more surface to the cold of space.

The combination of the coolant, which no one had bothered to turn off, and the AT field had caused a gentle snowfall to begin in the crater as atmospheric moisture condensed and froze in the environment. But around the superhot rod was an area of intense convection as the surrounding air rose from the super-heating effects.

As the Angel got within twenty meters of the surface the two Evas ceased their efforts and leapt back to the staging area, just behind Unit-02. Once there they retrieved their hand weapons and stood ready for their opponent.

After a minute that seemed to be an hour the rock below began changing colors, shifting from solid to liquid once more. Then it happened. The most unimaginable horror rose from the pool of bubbling material, screeching at the unfamiliar environment. Its battle cry was cut off by the sudden triggering of a positron rifle. The weapon sent magnetically contained packets of anti-matter down into the cauldron, striking the target in a massive shower of sparks.

Shinji felt the Angel's AT field momentarily drop in intensity with each hit. By the time the fifth round impacted the whole field was shrouded in smoke and dust, obscuring their view.

Having learned from the previous battle, Asuka asked the male pilot, "Is it dead?"

He chuckled softly, "Not even close. That thing's AT field is the strongest I've ever felt, and it barely even flinched at the attack."

The dust was settling, revealing a writing mass of tentacles and claws around a bulbous body. The arrangement reminded them of a squid, with bits of molten rock still sliding off its surface.

Asuka sighed and asked, "What is it with you Japanese and tentacle monsters?"

Before anyone could answer six of the pseudo arms shot out with blinding speed, doing their best to reach the trio of bio-weapons. Around ten meters away the tentacles stopped at a flaring AT field, sliding along the surface of it futilely.

The creature was not deterred, beginning the journey to the lip of the boiling hot chamber. It attacked more violently as it approached, trying to scare one of the pilots into misstep. This finally resulted in the shelf under the three mecha giving way, spilling them directly into the Angel's path.

Shinji quickly erected a shield to protect himself and lifted it, shaping it as he went to move the other two clear of the enemy's direct escape course. Sandalphon scurried over the energy surface, running for the one place that there were no potential targets. Just before it could find level ground again the AT field from Unit-01 dissolved, causing it to fall fifty feet onto the broken rocks below. The few jagged edges that struck it made no noticeable marks and quickly melted from the heat they were being exposed to.

The giant squid-like thing reached up and, with a heave, launched itself over the landing onto the outer slope of the mountain. Once there it began moving at top speed toward Tokyo-3.

The pilots recovered from the shock of this development and went after the beast, glad that the extra-long cords would allow them to give chase for some distance.

The Angel was finding the going tough, having to knock the trees down in front of it just to continue forward. Each time the monster swung its huge tentacles out another half circle of foliage was leveled and ignited from the slowly diminishing heat of the creature. It had realized that such temperatures would be a greater impediment on solid ground and was taking steps to correct the problem. The heat radiating from it was slowly lowering to a more ambient level, but it was a complex process of engineering its genetic structure on the fly. This effort was complicated by the fact that it could feel the Evas moving closer.

Closing to a hundred meters, all three pilots hurled prog spears at the retreating Angel. Two of the weapons missed, landing just past the target, and Asuka's struck a tentacle. The monster shrieked as its arm was pierced, anchoring it to the ground, the creature's momentum causing the blade to slice through several feet of flesh. Pulling fiercely it finished the job and severed the damaged limb, spewing purple ichor everywhere and allowing it to continue moving. The two spears that had been off target melted as the Angel crawled over them in its frantic escape.

Rei drew her Prog-katana, Asuka retrieved the spear, and Shinji triggered his shoulder mounts, producing two Prog-knives as they neared their opponent. This part of the plan called for them to take turns, getting closer each time until they could engage with their weapons of choice.

Asuka leapt over the creature, spreading her field to block its path. The sudden impact of many tons of flesh against the barrier caused it to flare brightly. The redhead swung her spear in a wide arc, severing two more tentacles from the target. Almost on cue Unit-00 came from behind and removed another appendage.

The horned shape of Unit-01 charged in close, arms crossed, both blades held in a reversed posture. He used his momentum to push past the fleshy protuberances that chose to attack him. Just as he reached the main body the tips of his blades flashed forward, piercing the rocky exterior of the creature.

Then the prog knives stopped advancing, seeming to hit an impenetrable layer. Shinji recognized the sudden "tone" produced by an AT field in contact with any progressive weapon. It seemed that this outer covering was simply solidified volcanic rock, put there to deceive an attacker.

Reacting to the new situation, Unit-01 leapt over the creature, spinning slightly in mid air, to land right in front if Asuka's AT barrier and to the left of the Angel. Rei took the silent cue and started hacking her way around the other side, severing every tendril on the way. With the three of them together Shinji opened a comm channel, "We need to try to combine our fields and see what happens."

Narrowing her barrier just enough to allow passage, the red haired pilot let them through to stand beside her. All three pilots concentrated on canceling the Angel's AT field, with Shinji working to increase his sync ratio even more.

The rock on the side facing them dissolved into dust as the four titans pushed against each other, leaving the unmistakable sign of a field interaction visible over the creature's reddish flesh.

Unit-01 stepped forward to slice through the weakened point. Just as the glowing metal swung back the tentacled beast changed direction, running at full speed to their left. As it flowed over Unit-00's power cord it tore the bundle of wires into several jagged chunks.

Rei dropped the effort of holding her field, knowing that it would drain her short lived batteries.

Asuka went after the beast at full speed, hoping to catch it before too much longer. Unit-01 grabbed Unit-00 by the arm and slung it over its back, trying to preserve as much of Rei's power as he could.

The red fighting mecha began to overtake their target and stopped it cold by extending her field past it. Once again it was looking like a dead heat until Sandalphon turned on her and began a charge. Asuka dodged, narrowly avoiding the beast, but placing her power cable directly in its path.

The large roll of metals and plastic, that would have withstood most conventional forms of attack, was shredded like wet tissue paper as the bone-blade tipped appendages of the Angel passed through the space it occupied.

Noticing her timer start the red-haired pilot dissolved her barrier and backed away from the attacking monster. She dodged several attacks, knowing that, without a power hungry AT field, any one of them could end her.

Just as one tentacle shot within feet of Unit-02's left shoulder a shimmering haze surrounded the main body of the Angel, severing all of its arms. This had the result of causing the one that had so recently been headed toward Asuka to continue in its direction of travel. Slamming into her with an unimaginable amount of force, she was thrown to the ground.

She looked up from her undignified landing and saw Unit-01 setting Rei's mecha gently on the ground. The embarrassed pilot snapped, "Do you mind, wonder boy?"

"Not at all clumsy." Shinji replied as he reached down to help her to her feet.

Just as they were getting situated a call came in from the mobile command post, "What's going on out there. We just registered a massive drop in the power load?"

"It's okay Misato." The male pilot answered for the group. "Asuka and Rei's power cables were cut. Just keep the juice flowing." He said into the four-way channel, "I have another idea."

"Oh shit." Was the response heard from Ritsuko back in the command trailer. She just knew he was going to rape physics again. It always gave her a headache when he did something completely impossible, even with the known capabilities of the AT field. Eventually she would decide that it was just Shinji being Shinji, and no one else could explain it. The knowledge that he eventually would did nothing to stop her analytical mind from bouncing off the inside of her skull until he did.

"Give me a break." Shinji retorted. "Okay listen. You two use whatever you have left to hold it. I'm ending this now."

Units 00 and 02 took up positions on either side of the Angel, spreading their fields just as Unit-01 reconfigured its own. He was drawing all of the energy he could and focusing it into a small point of AT energy directly before him. He had picked up on a faint genetic memory from his Eva, something it remembered from Lilith all those years ago.

He knew it had been accomplished before, but with months or maybe years, time was a different concept for an Angel, to work on it. Having neither the time nor raw materials necessary to accomplish the task properly he would simply have to rely on power and force of will to come close.

When the energy lever was approaching the critical moment where his creation would stabilize into a usable weapon, Shinji noticed a problem. Even with all the electricity of Japan flowing into him at a sync ratio dangerously close to the merger threshold, he didn't have enough. Without this there was no way to stop this Angel, he thought. If I can't make this work all the people I love will die.

With the firmest resolve of any human since the Spartans he pushed, willing the impossible into reality.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Back at Mount Asama, Misato and Ritsuko were conferring.

"What do you think he's going to do?" Misato asked.

"I have no idea. But he's pulling so much power that the cooling towers are going to start failing soon." The scientist replied.

Just then an alarm began sounding from Maya's station. "Oh hell!" The bridge bunny said, "His ratio just passed the 400% threshold."

In the next heartbeat, before anyone could react to the statement, the whole mountain shook. The trailer rocked as its auto-levelers did their best to keep it upright. Every AT field sensor in the country went off, proclaiming a brand new Orange pattern off in the distance.

Outside a freshly made whole in the side of the volcano began spewing lava, setting a large amount of woodland alight. The pressure quickly dropped, causing a new cap to form over the whole.

Interrupting the stunned silence of the control room, a phone rang. Ritsuko was the first to recover enough to make the series of connections necessary to recognize the sound and answered it. "Akagi here."

It was Gendo Ikari on the other end, "We've been monitoring the situation. What just happened?"

Checking a few displays, she answered, "We're not sure, sir. But it appears that the Angel has gone silent."

"And the pilots?"

"The feeds from Rei and Asuka are strong, but they're about to run out of power. Just prior to the seismic disturbance Shinji's sync ratio passed the merger threshold." She paused, not wanting to continue, "From our experience this is a bad thing sir."

Ikari was silent for so long that the background noise on the line was the only indication they were still connected. Finally he said, "Very well. Begin recovery procedures and report to me when you return."

He hung up before the blond could answer, leaving her holding onto the handset as both the Commander and Chief Scientist of NERV whispered, "Shinji, You fool."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Thanks to my best friend Birga for proofing this for me.


	16. Chapter 16: Angels

Hentai Shinji Chapter 16: Angels

Author's Notes: Not matter what, under any circumstances, will I ever use a DBZ move in this fic. Just wanted to make that clear.

Sorry about the long delay, but I had a lot I wanted to cover in this chapter. In my defense this is my longest chapter I posted to date. Hope you like it.

ooo000OOO000ooo

"Report." Gendo Ikari said as he walked into the conference room just off of Central Dogma. Seated around the table were Kozo, Misato, Ritsuko, Rei, Asuka and Maya. All of them had blank expressions on their faces as they tried to hide the churning emotions just under the surface. Ikari understood how they felt, experiencing this type of loss for the second time in his life.

The blond rose and touched several controls, starting a slide show on the wall screen. "Early yesterday morning the three Evas were deployed to Mount Asama. The MAGI named operation 'Deep Penetration' was put into effect at one a.m."

Several snickers were heard when the mission name was said. They had all been told just before going down into the cauldron, but the perversion of the supercomputers still amused all of them. Asuka hung her head and whispered longingly, "Pervert."

Akagi continued, "The first stage of the mission involved draining the heat out of the volcanic rock using an AT application never before witnessed. The heat was dissipated both into the atmosphere and into space. The jet stream is currently pushing the mass of hot air toward main land China. It should cause severe rainfall for a few days until the low pressure zone dumps all its moisture and dissipates. We foresee no long term effects."

Fuyutsuki spoke up, "We already have deniability due to the weather changes caused by second impact. The weather services are spinning it as another unexpected effect of those changes. We didn't even have to plant that idea."

Gendo nodded approvingly and motioned for the scientist to continue.

The next slides showed several pictures of the Angel emerging from the lava. At the same time a holographic projection of its actual shape, compiled from the various video feeds, appeared over the table. "As can be seen, this was a variant of the marine archetypes. Despite repeated hits scored on the target by Unit-02's positron rifle the target was unaffected. It quickly charged the Evas and caused a minor landslide in the process."

As the next few slides rolled by, Ritsuko continued to narrate, "Upon escaping the volcano, the Angel ran directly toward Tokyo-3, obviously trying to evade further contact with the combat team."

"This led to a brief chase that was eventually halted by Asuka projecting her AT field in front of the target. The Angel was momentarily stopped by this maneuver, but soon ran off in a new direction. Unit-0's power cord was severed at this time."

"Once again, Asuka chased the thing down and managed to stop it. Then the enemy turned on her and managed to sever her cable as well. Luckily this was when Unit-01 showed up, carrying Unit-00 on its back to help Rei conserve power."

The slides were replaced with a paused video of the battle, showing the two female piloted mecha standing on either side of the angel. Unit-01 stood slightly off to the side. The scientist continued, "The next few moments are open to interpretation, because we are unsure as to exactly what happened here. I've had the MAGI construct a composite from the available video to give us more than a static angle to view the event from."

She pressed play. The scene showed all four figures being almost perfectly still. The AT fields projected from Units 00 and 02 flared as the creature struggled to move in the confining space.

Directly in front of Unit-01 there was a bright point of light, growing ever larger and brighter as the seconds ticked by. Then the point began to shape itself, forming a sharp end and elongating. At some unknown predetermined distance the shaft of energy split, becoming a helix of spiraling light. Then they resumed a straight path for roughly the same distance as the handle, forming the two tines of the universes largest tuning fork.

Several people gasped as Ritsuko paused the image once more. Gendo asked, "Is that the lance?"

"It appears to be a replica, without physical form or substance. It read as pure energy to the other two Evas. But it seems to serve the same purpose." The blond answered.

As there were no further questions she resumed the playback. The purple Eva took hold of the glowing weapon and twisted it to face the target. Then it reached back with its throwing arm, making to hurl the object through the enemy. The tines instantly helixed to continue the seemingly decorative motif all the way to the end of its form. As the arm flew forward it released the weapon, which blurred as it headed straight and true toward the Angel.

The bolt of energy passed through the two girl's fields as though they didn't exist. Then it pierced the monster's field effortlessly, sliding through the flesh as well.

As the lance emerged from the other side it seemed to be pulling the Angel with it. In a heartbeat there was only a bright streak racing into the distance, trailing the remains of the enemy.

As the video paused Ritsuko continued, "It appears that Shinji was able to generate an AT field that mimicked the Lance of Longinus. Unfortunately there were some side effects." She pressed another control and the feed switched to a live feed from Unit-01's entry plug. Floating in the LCL was an empty black and red plug suit, crumpled slightly without a body to support it.

"From the internal data recorders it has been determined that, sometime after passing the threshold, he was able to reach an efficiency with the power transfer rate to allow him to achieve his final attack." The blonde's voice waivered slightly at the last few words. Most of the people in the room winced at the ill-chosen phrase.

Gendo cleared his throat and asked, "According to operating procedure, when can you begin the extraction process?"

"That's the problem, we can't." The head scientist said. She brought up a live data feed relay from the control station in Central Dogma. "This is a graph of the current state of the ego borders within Unit-01. As you can see, there are three distinct patterns present."

Fuyutsuki, being the one who helped Yui the most with the development of the basic Eva technology, leaned forward to examine the data. He finally leaned back, saying, "This complicates things, old man." He said to the younger man seated next to him. "With the standard procedure, you have to have an ego border signal to help calibrate the equipment. There's no way of knowing what kind of interference two more ego borders could cause."

Gendo noticed a gentle shift in the display, "What was that?" It seemed as though all three graphs had expanded slightly.

The blonde answered, "That is the other peculiar thing. Instead of diminishing, all three ego borders are becoming stronger. If the current rate holds they will pass the human threshold in two days."

"And then?" The commander asked hesitantly.

She shrugged, "I have no idea. Nothing about this is following any of the previous cases." Ritsuko sighed as she rubber her temple, "As it always seems to be around Shinji, ab- is the only normal."

A soft, and somewhat hopeful, laugh circulated through the room. Gendo asked to be informed of any changes and dismissed them. As he left he could hear the women in his son's life comforting each other.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji was soaring upward through an endless, cerulean sky. He knew his two companions were right behind him, keeping pace just as effortlessly as he was flying. They were enjoying themselves shamelessly.

The trio was completely aware of what was going on outside, even if at a slowed pace. As was usual for such a mindscape, time moved a little differently. The difference was becoming less and less, but they didn't expect any action on anyone else's part for at least another day.

In the mean time, Shinji was determined to enjoy himself. "Are you trying to escape this place son?" Yui whispered over the roaring wind.

"Of course not mom, just enjoying myself." He answered. He stopped rising, coming to an instant stop. "I suppose it's time to work on getting out again"

The three were completely unsurprised to find themselves back on the ground. The young pilot had been experimenting with his control over their environment for the past week of subjective time they had experienced. They all sat comfortably on the ground, entering a meditative state where they could hear each other's thoughts.

ooo000OOO000ooo

A few days later, Ritsuko was sitting at her desk brooding. Everything was so alien about this situation. They had only ever had three pilots lost in this way. To this day not one had ever been recovered.

The difference being that each time before the ego border had weakened as soon as the merger occurred. In each case they had tried to implement the recovery procedure, just to have it end in failure. Now not only was the pilot's ego border was clearly discernable from the background noise, it was getting stronger. In addition, two more signatures were emerging out of the pattern, making it impossible to use the standard recovery technique.

The waiting was the worst part. Just sitting around watching the screen for any meaningful change. If it hadn't been for the women she thought of as her family constantly reminding Ritsuko of her other responsibilities, the scientist wound have long since descended into madness staring at the screen.

But something was bothering her. Like a song title you just couldn't remember, or a face you know the name to but it refuses to click into place. Something about this data had that kind of feeling to it.

The commander had locked himself into his apartment, handling all of his duties electronically. He still did his job, but the fire within his eyes was gone. The last vestige of his hope had been stripped from him with the disappearance of his son.

Misato was a nervous wreck, driving many of her co-workers up the walls. The most surprising part being that she had managed to stay away from alcohol. There were a few members of the staff that wished she would just drink herself under a table somewhere, but all of them understood how hard this loss was.

Rei and Maya were conspiring together to keep the rest of their household calm and collected. Depending on which one needed it most, the girls were always there at the right time to do the most good. No one suspected that they had tapped into the internal video system and the MAGI helped them keep track of the others. The really worrying thought was if Ritsuko, Misato and Asuka all three fell apart at the same time.

The one that everyone expected to be celebrating, Asuka, was the worst wreck off all. She would start the day by pretending she was happy. By lunch she was barely convincing herself that the pervert being gone was a good thing. At dinner she would solemnly turn away from her meal and go cry herself to sleep. A few times she could be heard yelling, "You Pervert, Why?"

After only two days without Shinji it seemed that there was no hope left in the entire city. All the citizens had heard of the heroic sacrifice of their favorite pilot and the fact that he was feared lost, though the details were somewhat different from the truth.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Ritsuko was just finishing the analysis for the third time. She didn't know exactly how it was happening, but it just seemed like such a Shinji thing.

With the new data printouts in hand she turned to find Misato standing there looking somber. In an unexpected gesture she grabbed the Tactical Director and kissed her passionately.

When they came up for air Katsuragi asked, "What brought that on?"

The blond smiled, recalling their days in college, before Misato met the asshole, "They're coming back. It's happening."

Unaccustomed to seeing her usually professional friend gibbering nonsense, the Tactical Director reached out and took her friend's face in her hands, saying slowly, "Ritsuko. I love you, but if you don't start talking in complete sentences I swear I'll slap you."

Realizing her absurd state the scientist sobered slightly before continuing, "I was just analyzing the newest data from Unit-01. When I ran a comparison between the patterns and an archived ego border it found an 86% match."

"Who is it?"

"Yui Ikari. Somehow Shinji is pulling her out of the Eva. Do you realize what this means?"

"Slow down Ritsuko. What makes you think he is pulling her out?"

Akagi grinned, "It's Shinji." She said lovingly, as though that explained everything.

Thinking this over for a moment, Misato realized it did. Or as much as anything made sense around him. As the full realizations hit her she was overtaken by a wave of emotion and returned the greeting she had received.

Several minutes later the Science Director extracted herself reluctantly and said, "I was just going to see the Commander and get his opinion on this."

"You know he hasn't left his apartment for a few days now? How do you intend to get through to him?"

"I know he's been pretty depressed by this whole thing. But this will cheer him up." Akagi said.

Looking sheepish, Katsuragi added, "We haven't been much better, you know?"

Ritsuko sighed, "Yeah. If it hadn't been for Rei and Maya I'm sure one of us would have committed suicide by now. We really should do something to thank them tonight."

"I can't think of a better present than this news." Misato said, "Now go tell Gendo before he considers doing the same."

"Yes ma'am." The blond snapped of a sharp salute. They both laughed at the gesture, enjoying the moment of levity. Then they hugged briefly and headed off in different directions.

ooo000OOO000ooo

"Commander Ikari, it's Dr. Akagi. I need to speak with you." Ritsuko had been pressing the buzzer for five minutes already. She was starting to lose all patience.

She started pounding on the metal surface, "Gendo, it's important. I have some new data." She knew he was still in there. The readout said the door was locked from the inside.

Redoubling her efforts she shouted, "Gendo, you asshole, get out here. I have to tell you this. It's about Yui."

The door opened so immediately she barely had time to stop her fist from hitting her boss in the face.

Gendo Ikari was exactly as she expected him to be. His cheeks sunken and his eyes dead. This was a state she had never seen him in. In almost a decade of knowing the man she had never thought it possible for him to break under the pressure.

Handing the printouts over, she commanded, "Look at these."

He took them and motioned her inside. She could tell from the look of the place that he had apparently been having the same kinds of mood swings she had. The TV and several vases were in pieces, scattered all over. Every non-vertical surface that was wide enough looked like it had been slept on at some point in the recent past.

This was a man too far gone to care anymore, but who still clutched at the last few threads of hope. The dichotomy was driving him insane, as he kept trying to make some sort of sense of it all.

Ikari found that all of the old tricks he could use to avoid the truth were gone. He could no longer deny that he had failed to protect his family from the horror of the Angel War. They were both gone now, and he was to blame.

As he read the report that accompanied the ego-graph his eyes narrowed on the name of his wife. How dare someone use her name. He forced himself to read the rest before responding. "Is this your idea of a joke, Dr. Akagi?"

"It's no joke. I'm not sure how he's doing it, but your son is pulling her back."

"That's impossible." Ikari stated in a dead voice. "She was lost too long ago to be recoverable. It must be an..."

"Wake up Gendo!" Ritsuko snapped at him, "Shinji is the most remarkable person I have ever met. He has a grasp of concepts I can't even begin to fathom, and above all else he is your son. You and Yui gave him an intellect only rarely seen in our species."

She paused for a moment as she collected her thoughts from the whirlwind of emotions inside her, "He has applied that mind to solving every problem thrown at him in the most unique ways imaginable. Now he is doing it again."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because with Shinji, if it seems impossible, just give him a little longer to think about it. He's apparently been in contact with the MAGI since Unit-01's return to the cages. And now he's found a way to do it. If I know him, he'll even manage to do it with a little showmanship."

Gendo reread the printout. He could see where the lines of thought would lead to this conclusion, but could not bring himself to believe it. "What about this third pattern?"

"As far as I can tell, it's the Eva. The pattern is truly unique, utterly unlike any we've seen before."

"So the Eva is awakening? How is this not a bad thing?" Gendo asked, his mind finally deciding to work.

"Because it's an Eva totally loyal to your son. How could a fully active war machine that requires no pilot and will still fight to defeat the Angels be a bad thing?" The blond countered.

Something was happening to Gendo's eyes, she could see them coming back to life. "I want every precaution taken, every contingency plan that could even remotely apply to this ready to be implemented at once."

He reached for the intercom and keyed his office, "Fuyutsuki, I'll be there in twenty minutes. Have some strong coffee ready."

He cut the circuit after hearing a startled but happy, "Yes sir."

Gendo went to his bedroom and emerged fifteen minutes later, showered, groomed and dressed in his usual suit. He walked past the scientist and triggered the door. "Are you coming Doctor?"

"Yes Commander." She said happily.

"And Ritsuko," Ikari said, "Thanks."

Akagi smiled, "Any time Gendo."

ooo000OOO000ooo

It had been a week and a half since the incidents around Mount Asama. The NERV personnel were getting worried, wondering when the other shoe would drop and kill them all. Up until now the enemy had made it a point of attacking fairly quickly, one right after the other. Now the next Angel was overdue and not a peep had been heard from it.

Without Shinji the personnel had no way of knowing what state the new advisory was in or its direction of approach. The star pilot had come to be relied upon for a great many things, including emotional grounding for most of the staff. His absence had caused those close to him to rely on each other during his period of being in disposed.

There was another reason for apprehension inside the Geofront on this particular day. The giant holo-projectors in Central Dogma were given over to showing the ego-graphs being recorded from Unit-01. One was marked as Sjinji's, while another bore the name of his mother. It was the third graph that worried many of the personnel. It did not resemble any of the signatures on record and, as far as anyone knew, could only belong to the Evangelion itself. But an awakened Eva could be a disaster for all of humanity. It would be the perfect killing machine, requiring neither power nor rest.

All three graphs inched closer to 100% as many eyes watched the screen. The other two main shift bridge techs, Aoba and Hyuga, were in the command center along with about a dozen others. The rest of the staff was in the Eva cages wondering what was about to happen.

Ritsuko was watching her own readouts when she said, "Now."

As soon as the three graphs reached the human threshold a red light shown from between the cracks of the Eva's armor. This light quickly became a blinding white that drowned out everything else. All the cameras displayed error messages for almost ten seconds and the people trying to watch had no choice but shield their closed eyes from the piercing light. Something about the experience made them feel content and loved.

Just as suddenly as it had started the light faded into nothingness, leaving nasty purple shadows in several people's vision. Everyone jumped at the sound of large items splashing into the coolant fluid below.

As her eyes cleared Misato could make out three naked figures lying face down on the catwalk. She ran over to the male figure and crouched beside him, lifting Shinji's head into her lap as she rolled him over.

She heard the medical personnel run up a moment later to start loading the two females onto gurneys.

Gendo whispered in astonishment, "Yui." before she was wheeled away. He looked at the other woman and found her to be an almost perfect blending of his wife's and Rei's features. She was obviously younger than Yui, but also several years older than the First Child.

Ritsuko was a little jealous of her housemates as they clustered around their beloved while she did her best to make sure the necessary monitoring equipment was attached to all her patients. As Shinji rolled past her she placed several sensor discs on his body and then noticed something off. She gasped as she realized he was several inches taller and looked to have acquired slightly more mature features. But the face was still the man she loved, just made more handsome by the process.

The scientist looked at the other women she shared his home with and they nodded. This silent conversation was all it took for them to communicate, leaving no room for misunderstanding. She waved them on and followed behind to the exam rooms.

Several of the techs were staring bemusedly at the giant plates of metal and ceramic alloy still held in the restraining clamps.

One of the techs commented, "That's the armor, but where the hell is the Eva?"

The team leader walked over and said, "We had better get the coolant drained so we can get to the rest of them. Then we'll get them into storage. Move."

There was a sudden flurry of motion as personal ran to complete the tasks they had been given.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji lay in his bed in a room with two other patients. At the far end was his mother with her husband sitting next to her reading some report. Next was a young woman no one knew. A creature some speculation had been made about. Despite her appearance, she was found to have primarily Eva DNA and a brain scan that indicated an immense level of aggression.

Around the male pilot's bed a group of women were asleep, refusing to leave before he awoke.

As Ritsuko regained consciousness she blinked blearily before putting her glasses back on. She began checking the readouts before greeting her boss, "How are you doing Gendo?"

He marked his place, set the file aside and stretched loudly, "Not too bad. Why don't you ladies go get something to eat? It's been two days, and as the medical officer you have to see the danger in that."

She sighed, "I do, but it's hard to leave him like this."

"Go on." He encouraged. "I'll call you if anything changes."

Akagi nodded and roused the rest, herding them out the door before they were even entirely awake.

When the door hissed closed the commander of NERV stood up to stretch his legs, feeling his joints complaining from the uncomfortable position he had been in. As he passed the first bed he heard a voice say, "Are they all gone?"

He smiled and turned to face his son, "Yes they are, and they've been worried sick about you."

"I know." Shinji said. "I heard them as they kissed me. Even smelled that perfume Asuka uses as she pecked me on the cheek."

"Then why didn't you wake up? It would have been a huge boost to their spirits." Gendo said.

The young pilot looked troubled, "Because I need someone who won't sugar coat things to answer a few questions."

"No promises, but shoot."

"Dad, I don't think I'm human anymore. And if I'm not human, how can I still love them all? I feel just like I did before toward them, but I'm not sure it's isn't just a remnant."

"Danm son, you do come out with the hard ones." The elder Ikari shook his head. "To respond to the first part, I had Ritsuko do a genetic comparison on all three of you." He indicated the other two beds.

Shinji raised his head enough to see the two people he hoped would be there. A grin spread across his face as he let himself settle back into the bed. "It worked." He whispered.

"It did." His father confirmed, "But getting back to your concerns, your genetic code has changed less than one percent since getting here. It appears that you've unlocked some of what Lilith gave humanity when we were created us. If anything, you're more human than when you got here."

Shinji let this sink in for a moment, "And the rest?"

"As to your feelings, you'll have to decide about that. But in my opinion, you'd have to be crazy not to love them."

Both father and son grinned widely at the elder's jest. The young man said, "Thanks Dad. For everything."

"Don't thank me. You did the hard part. All I did was make your life hell."

"You provided me with the tools to bring her back. That's means a lot to me."

"It means a great deal to me as well. Look, if you won't accept the fact that I owe you more than I can ever repay, then let's just call it even."

"Deal." Shinji settled.

Gendo turned serious, "So who's the third?"

Turning his head to look at the attractive young woman lying in the bed next to him, the pilot sighed, "That's Lina. She is what used to be Unit-01's personality. Now she's an angelic human, like me and Mom."

"I see." Gendo scratched his chin. "So what should we expect from you angelic humans?"

A small hexagon of AT energy appeared before Shinji. It floated for a moment before moving to his bedside table and sliding under a glass of ice water. The cup floated on the area of folded space as it was lifted and flew into the pilot's waiting hand. He downed the entire contents, not noticing the fact that breathing and temperature differential were no longer concerns.

Once finished with his beverage the male patient placed the cup back on the table and asked, "Does that explain enough?"

"Yes it does. And it will probably scare the living shit out of the committee after the news hits them."

They both chuckled darkly. All pieces were falling into place as they manipulated their enemies into just the right frame of mind to be destroyed. Gendo sobered a little, "What is your next move?"

"Besides getting used to a new body?" Shinji asked. Gendo nodded and his son continued, "I have a mother I can't remember too well, a woman who's totally unfamiliar with our world, and a family of women to make apologies to for scaring the crap out of them. I think my plate is gonna be pretty full."

"Don't forget that we could be attacked at any moment." His father unhelpfully added.

"Thanks for reminding me of that Dad." The new angel said in a playfully aggressive tone. He was thoughtful for a moment before continuing. "I don't think we need to be worried about Matariel for a while. It's still way off trying to develop a plan of attack."

"You can tell that much now?"

"Yeah. Now that I'm closer to being one of them I can feel its developmental stages with more accuracy. This one is devoting all its resources to thinking up some way to wipe humanity from the Earth. When it's done with that all those resources will go to manipulating its body into the right shape to accomplish its plan. But we have time before either of those things will reach a final stage and Matariel will launch its attack."

"Then I guess you'll be going back to school tomorrow then?" Gebdo asked, trying to steer the conversation away from its previous direction.

"Actually," Shinji began, "I don't think that'll be necessary."

"And why not young man?" The commander of NERV asked in a fatherly tone even he didn't realize he could manage.

The younger man looked sheepish, "You see, I have the equivalency of a PhD in biochemistry, with a specialization in xenogenetics." His face blushed slightly from the embarrassment of what he was about to say. "I actually have all of Mom's memories up to the point when we separated a few days ago."

Gendo could feel his own face reddening in a manner he did not think was possible anymore. No one had managed to get him to blush like that since one time he had made the mistake of sitting in on one of his wife's Friday night drinking parties with her friends. The things he had heard that night would have made most other men die of brain damage from oxygen starvation. He cleared his throat, "Uh, so you know about?"

"Yeah, and I wish I didn't." Shinji was shaking his head, "I'll never be able to look at sex the same way again. Though on the plus side, I now have a completely different perspective on it."

The silence stretched out between them, slightly uncomfortable as the revelations ran over each of them. Finally it was broken by the door opening.

Asuka walked in with her back to the room as she was talking to the others. Their conversation fell silent as the rest of Shinji's family saw him awake and sitting up. Ritsuko even forgot to scold Gendo for not calling them as they all rushed over and glomped onto the male focus in their lives.

The confusing admonitions about ever doing that again finally ended and they loosened the tight circle to allow the young man some room to breathe. He smiled broadly at them and said, "I've missed you too. But we can spend plenty of time together once Rits lets me go."

"That won't be until after the other two are awake." The blond said. "I feel it would be best to have you around for that."

"Couldn't agree more." The pilot acknowledged the minor scolding for his part in her current headache.

ooo000OOO000ooo

With Shinji awake the others started getting back to life as usual. Gendo went back to his office, only stopping in once a day to check on his wife. The other pilots returned to school and all the questions therein. They visited each afternoon after their studies. Misato and Maya were once again on the bridge in Central Dogma, handling their duties with a renewed gusto. They came by the hospital wing around three times a day.

Ritsuko was there every couple hours to check that all the equipment was still hooked up right. After about three days of this routine she entered the room to find Shinji sitting up with his laptop before him, typing quickly. She leaned over and found a page of text scrolling by. "What's that all about?" She asked.

"Working on my doctoral dissertation in xenogenetics." He said without slowing his frenetic pace, "There haven't been too many papers published on the subject, so it's wasn't too hard to find a good topic."

"I heard you would be taking the tests for that degree. How's that going?"

"About half way done. Decided to take a break and do something interesting. Since I now have a peer who can review my paper without having to be shot afterward." He answered as she went to check on the other patients.

"So what topic did you pick? If you don't mind me asking." Ritsuko inquired, indulging her curiosity.

"The gene sequences necessary for externalizing an AT field and the proteins they code for." He continued writing the paper, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings.

Ritsuko didn't respond immediately because she was focused on the readings on Yui's monitors. She finally said, "Shinji, come here and take a look at this."

The young man got up and moved quickly to her side, taking in the display as he approached. "That looks like the spike pattern I made just before waking up. Call Dad, I think his wife is coming back soon."

At that moment a slender hand shot out and grabbed Shinji's wrist in a vise like hold. He moved closer, placing his hand on top of his mother's and started making comforting sounds in her ear. A few minutes later the door hissed open and Gendo came in, moving faster than normal. He took his wife's other hand and felt the warm fingers tighten almost painfully around his. He leaned in and kissed her cheek, whispering, "Yui dear. It's time to wake up now."

The woman who had been declared dead a decade earlier opened her eyes and smiled as she recognized the two most important men in her life. She opened her mouth to speak and was mildly frustrated when a dull wheezing came out. Her son pressed a glass of water into her hand and she drank.

With her throat wet she tried again, "Thank you Shinji." The low whisper was barely audible to the other two, but the subject of the thanks found it easy to make out. She continued, "You have brought me back to the land of the living."

She turned her gaze and looked at her husband, a stern expression on her face, "I should be very angry with you Gendo. But if he can forgive you than I suppose I can too."

With those words she slumped back into unconsciousness.

Ritsuko checked a few graphs and said, "She's sleeping normally now. Looks like she just came out of the recovery phase long enough to say 'Hi' before passing out."

"Something like that." Shinji said, "Her energy signature has stopped shifting. Now it's just becoming stronger."

"What about Lina?" Gendo asked.

"From the previous data, I'd say she's about three days from awakening." The blond answered, giving her love a questioning look.

"I'd have to agree with you. Her pattern is still in flux, but it's starting to settle in the major places." He confirmed.

"Why did you name her Lina?" Misato asked.

"Shit loads of rage and even more power. Could you find a more appropriate name?" He answered. "Besides, she picked the name out of my memories and insisted we call her that."

"Looks like you'll be in here for at least another week then." Ritsuko said, sounding slightly disappointed.

ooo000OOO000ooo

The next morning Yui woke more naturally, shifting slowly under her sheets while the fog of sleep lifted from her mind. She awoke to find the familiar face of her son smiling at her. She smiled in return and managed to croak out, "Good morning."

He handed her a glass of water and replied, "Good morning to you too mother. I hope we can spend more time together than yesterday."

With her throat wet she recognized actually her own voice, "I still feel weak, but it should pass soon."

"It did for me." He said, "But it takes about a day. You have a new body to get used to."

"Where are we?" The older woman asked, looking around the artificially lit room.

"NERV headquarters, in the Geofront. They decided to put us all in the same room just in case." Shinji answered.

"How long has it been since we defeated Sandalphon?"

"Almost two weeks. It was freaking several people out that Matariel hadn't already attacked until I explained it was still working out a plan." He shifted in his seat, leaning toward her slightly. "What do you remember from before your absorption, and your time in the Eva?"

"Everything. It's kinda weird how much I remember from back then, but I suppose that's just a side effect of the new body." She answered.

"Yeah, useful really. I've been using my perfect recall of your memories to work toward my college degrees."

Yui cocked her head, examining him with all her senses. "How much longer do they plan to keep us here?"

Shinji's smile widened, "Just until we're all able to leave. They want to have the closest thing to an expert on hand in case something goes wrong."

"So what happens now?" She asked expectantly.

"This to start with." He launched himself at her, wrapping his arms around his mother. "I've missed you."

Yui smiled gently at the young man clutching onto her. It almost felt like he expected her to go away again and wanted to make sure she didn't have the chance. She put her arms around him and gently squeezed her son, hurting from all the memories she had of him needing this kind of contact and her not being there. "It's okay son. I promise not to do that again."

"There won't be a need anymore." He said, loosening his hold, "With Lina fully awake now she won't need a resident consciousness. She and I can work together perfectly, though I will miss your calming presence in the heat of battle."

The door opened, revealing Gendo and Ritsuko. The two newcomers made their way swiftly to the far bed, the doctor splitting off to check the readouts while Ikari went over and joined the hug currently in progress.

He found the once familiar action comforting after having been too long without their presence. The simple pleasures of family helped to heal them all in those few moments. It provided a grounding that was lost with the disappearance of Yui all those years ago.

Ritsuko gave them a few minutes, longing to feel Shinji's arms around her but unwilling to interrupt the touching scene. Finally she said, "It looks like you're coming along well Yui, though none of your levels match the records."

The family of Gendo Ikari let each other go and his wife looked at the scientist, seeing her old friend's determination in those eyes, "To be expected with the alterations to my DNA. I'm pretty sure any medical text would be incompatible with the three of us."

"Even more perplexing are the differences between you, Shinji and Lina. You all have wildly disproportionate hormone levels, including a few we haven't assigned names to yet. But none of you seem to be the same even there."

Shinji could see the little signs that the shop talk was starting to annoy his father. He took pity on the man and stood, gestured for the blond to accompany him, "I'm sure we can discuss this another time. Let's give these two a few minutes."

He pulled the curtain between Yui and Lina's bed and then did the same for the one separating his from the other two. With this done he sat on his bed and motioned for Ritsuko to do the same.

As soon as she was seated the woman imitated his earlier hugging motion. After what seemed an eternity she looked into his eyes, "We've missed you at home."

"I know, but I really do need to be here, especially for Lina's first wake up. It could be a bad one." He said, stroking her hair soothingly.

"Define bad." She said. At his inquiring look she elaborated, "With you 'bad' takes on a whole new meaning."

He grinned at this, "Cats and dogs living together kind of bad. If she freaks out it could level the whole building and pancake anyone inside. But if we're here we can limit the reach of her AT field and try to calm her down." He let out a heavy sigh, "The big question is when. We can't predict it to closer than a few hours right now and that doesn't leave a wide margin for error. It only takes a second to unfold a Territory."

"We can be patient for a little longer. It's not like it was when you first disappeared."

Shinji raised an eyebrow at her comment, "What happened while I was gone?"

"We pretty much fell apart. Without you here Misato became a total wreck, Asuka was about as sullen as she usually is cocky, and I at least had the analysis to pour myself into. If it hadn't been for Rei and Maya I think one of us would have killed ourselves."

"Shit." He whispered. "I'm sorry I put you through that. I have a lot to make up to you girls and can't wait to get back to normal." He tightened his grip on her shoulder, "How bad did Dad come down on you guys for being that way?"

"He was the worst. I'm not kidding." She said to his shocked look, "I think he had gotten used to the way things were developing between you two. When you vanished he tried to cope on his own. He closed all of us out, locking himself into his apartment. It wasn't until I went at screaming at him with your ego-graphs that he finally came out of it."

The young man was rubbing his temple, "Remind me to never do that again. You're all too important to have to go through that even once."

"Don't beat yourself up too bad. If we had listened to Maya and Rei it wouldn't have been so bad. They kept the faith when the rest of us gave up." Ritsuko explained.

"We need to do something special for them."

Ritsuko grinned, "I'll get to work on it tonight."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Yui progressed quickly, recovering the ability to walk by the next morning and relearning fine motor control over the course of that same day. This led to the entire Ikari group going for a long walk out into the Geofront that evening.

The party of eight made their way into the park like area surrounding the pyramid that marked the central control center of NERV. Shinji took a breath of the non-recycled air and sighed, "It's nice to be outside again."

His mother seemed to be thinking the same thing as she ran her hand across the surface of the large reflecting pool that mirrored the building. After a few minutes they continued on away from the developed areas and toward the lake. All the women that lived with Shinji linked arms with him in a pattern he had never seen before, mainly because Asuka had joined the display.

Yui and Gendo walked a few paces behind, observing their son and his family. She whispered to her husband in a tone pitched to reach only his ears, "I never would have imagined your son having a group like that."

"It reminded me so much of you it almost seemed natural." He replied in the same way.

"I never strayed from you." She looked shocked at his words.

"I know, but you would have liked to try it. It was only my ingrained prejudices that stopped you. That's one thing I'm happy to say I got rid of, if a little late."

"Not too late." She said gently, "I'm back now, but we still have the society that taught you that nonsense to start with."

"From what the public opinions have been saying, it may not be as ingrained as it was ten years ago."

Shinji looked over his shoulder, "That's just special exceptions given to the people that save their asses. And don't think anything short of a thick metal wall is going to keep me from hearing you."

His mother asked, "You really think that's the only reason?"

"Not hardly." The young man replied, "I have no idea about how much our society may have changed in the last decade. You would know that better than I do. But the two main things that keep public opinion on our side are the whole saving the world crap, and a certain scathing reporter that can understand the difference between someone who seeks greatness and someone who has it thrust upon them."

He looked thoughtful for a moment, "Despite all the pain that this war has caused, the only part I would change is the place."

"You would go through with this even if you had a choice?" Asuka asked.

"Of course." Shinji said immediately, "This has been one of the two best times of my life. It's given me a chance to have family again. I just wish it could have happened in a lifeless corner of the globe so there wouldn't be so many innocents involved."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Kaji was having trouble keeping his 'masters' placated. After his long silence it was difficult convincing them he hadn't abandoned his mission. Now every piece of information he sent was subject to endless requests for elaboration, where as before his reports would have been accepted without question. He felt that he was beginning to understand the old Chinese curse.

Ryoji finished typing the last line of his file on the younger Ikari and prepared to send it to the committee. This particular version of reality matched almost completely with the older data the old fools had, leading them to assume the young man was still as weak as they thought.

His keen eye had not missed the fact that the young man had not been home since the last battle. Nor had he passed through the security checkpoints to the surface. In fact there was not even a visual record of the young man for over a week according to the sections of the camera network he could access. Apparently the pilot had been in the Eva cages, one of the most secure areas, for that time frame. Then he was suddenly rushed to the maximum security hospital block on a gurney. The most interesting point was that two other persons, both female and not currently on the roles, were also removed from the hanger at the same time.

Kaji could swear the two women looked like older versions of Ayanami. If that was true then it could be some new scheme cooked up by Gendo to see if nothing but Rei clones could be used for piloting. He could not completely discount this possibility without more information, but it didn't sit right with him. Something else was going on.

The spy hadn't reported any of this to SEELE, and in fact was doing his best to keep them from finding out through any other means. He had made it a point to block any infiltration of the base computers, finding them disturbingly few. In addition to that, Ryoji had been working on finding and nullifying any agents that tried to get too close. Intelligence/Counterintelligence was after all his specialty.

He added one more layer of encryption to his message and connected to one of the few remaining P2P servers under a prearranged username. Within minutes the packet of data was downloaded by his contact and he logged off. With his job done he pulled a device out of his pocket and set on top of the laptop he had been using. The object looked like a large lighter, with a blinking light to indicate it was still receiving the hold signal being transmitted from an almost identical looking object in his pocket.

As Kaji left the building the device activated, wiping all electronic storage within a three meter radius. The small flash drive within his pocket was once again the only copy of his private files in Tokyo-3.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Off the coast of Alaska, deep under the icy waters, a creature was stirring from its slumber. It knew that the time for its awakening had not yet come to pass, but circumstances dictated a change of plan. The chrysalis state of the Angel was impenetrable, being able to survive all but the strongest explosives and AT weaponry. Still this did not mean that it was unmovable.

Several large containment clamps had been lowered through the chilly depths and used as a net to hold the large black shape as it was lifted to the surface. Waiting for it was a purpose built ship that would transport the undeveloped Angel to a transfer point. After that it would be sent to an officially non-existent study facility full of scientists that would, officially, be studying the effects of Second Impact on deep sea life.

Tabris knew none of this, as it was still mostly unconscious. The sudden disturbance of its slumber was completely unexpected and caused it to begin reviving early. Each of the previous Angels had some warning that their time was coming, but to be awoken this way would leave it dazed for an extended period. During this time it was unable to resist anything done to it that did not threaten the integrity of its cocoon. It would just have to wait and see what was happening.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Tokyo-3 was finally getting back to some semblance of normality. With the almost weekly Angel attacks no one had been too eager to resume a normal routine. But with the long pause came the opportunity to take stock of their loses and damages taken so far and to mourn for the few who had fallen to the enemies' assaults.

A small temple on the outskirts of the city was currently the site for a lively debate between its members.

"The real question is what do we consider him to be. What does Shinji Ikari mean to us?" Kensuke Aida stated.

Toji snorted, "He's the third best friend I've ever had. He helped me realize what I actually felt for Hikari." He said this with a little squeeze to the indicated girl who was sitting in his lap, "And he's helped us all understand the true meaning of sacrifice."

"I know what you mean man," Aida said, "That time he told us about the pain he feels when the Eva's damaged." He shuddered. "He's a hero for what he does."

"But that's not all." A black haired girl with sapphire blue eyes said. "He's an inspiration to all of us on how we can live our everyday lives. I don't think there's a hateful bone in his body."

Toji looked at her with a shocked expression on his face, "You've got to be kidding me. I've heard him talk about what he will do, not if he had the chance, but will do to anyone who threatens his friends or family. He hates. And to those he hates he's a vengeful god."

"Maybe we can help by getting rid of those people." A slim boy with brown hair and hazel eyes said. "Can't we find these people and make sure they never threaten him."

"No Makoto." Kensuke said flatly. "Those battles he has to fight. If we got involved it would only make it so he had to save us. We can't get mixed up in that stuff."

"You make it sound like some epic clash." Another girl said. She had blond hair and green eyes, and appeared to be of European descent. She was a year ahead of them in school and had a way of pointing out any cult like behavior before it developed too far. Because of her influence they no longer worshiped the bronze sitting against the far wall. Toji and Kensuke still stopped in passing and bowed to it, as did many of the others, but it was no longer the fanatic devotion it had been. All the members saw this as a good thing because they didn't really want to create a new religion here, just a sort of fan club. This inevitably led to the kind of discussion they were currently having, which in turn served to strengthen their resolve to offer the pilot their support.

"Maybe it is, Cynthia" Toji said.

"We all know there are things out there beyond our grasp. Things that happen on a titanic scale that we could never truly understand." Kensuke said. "And these are the types of things heroes need as much support as possible to handle."

"So what kind of support do you suggest?" Cynthia asked.

"With all of the time since the last attack many people will get complacent. We need to make sure as many people as possible are ready when the next attack comes. Get people to actually practice the drills that we all felt were just nonsense before this started." Kensuke said.

Toji took over when his friend finished, "There will also be a lot of people looking for someone to blame for their losses. That someone may turn out to be Shinji. We need to remind all these people about the alternatives. In the first attack nearly half the damage inflicted was done by our own military. In the second attack Shinji managed to stop the thing cold well outside of the city."

"Without those brave pilots out their protecting us the only alternative would be to drop N2 mines until the Angels stopped being affected by them. By that time Tokyo-3 would be nothing but a smoldering crater." Aida added, "I'm not even sure the shelters would survive that."

All the twenty-three members nodded their heads, not even doubting the words of the two founders. Toji looked around at them, wondering how such a diverse group of people had come together here to pledge their support to Shinji. Even without the behavior patterns that had spawned the name for the group gone they still wore the small CoS pins. He didn't know how long it would be before Shinji found out, but he assumed it would be bad when he did.

The club members began brainstorming for possible ways to help out where they could, continuing late into the night.

ooo000OOO000ooo

The one thing about being on call is you don't make plans. Shinji Ikari understood this concept very well, having been on call for all the previous Angel attacks. But this time it was a little different.

For one thing, this was not an attack, just the awakening of an angelic human that could possibly level the entire complex they were in without trying too hard. The worst part of this was that she may not even mean to, having only limited control over her abilities when she awoke.

The other difference was that he got to spend time with his entire family while they waited for the upcoming event. They were currently having a picnic in the hospital room where the newest addition to his family was sleeping soundly.

Misato took a pull on the fruit cocktail they had brought and asked, "So how will you know when she's about to come out of it?"

The mail pilot closed his eyes and a pattern of hexagons briefly flared around Lina's bed. "When that happens without me having to cause it we'll know she's awake. I don't expect her to unfold her field first thing, but it's a possibility."

"Damn, is she really that powerful?" Asuka asked.

"Lina is as powerful as an angel, just as we are." Yui said, indicating Shinji and herself. "The amount of damage that much raw power could do is staggering."

Suddenly the field around the bed flared again, this time causing everyone to look up. Shinji seemed to teleport to the bed and held the young woman's hand as he spoke softly, "Asherah, it's okay. You don't need to be scared. We're all here."

Pure red eyes opened to look into his, momentarily burning with power. She was clearly frightened by her surroundings but, on recognizing her pilot, relaxed and began berating deeply. "Anael, I guess it worked." Her voice sounded gravelly, emphasizing the fact that it had never been used. She slumped back and was instantly asleep, repeating the process Yui had followed a few days earlier.

"Yes Asherah, it worked." He whispered back.

Shinji turned back to the rest and smiled, "That went well."

"That was well?" Ritsuko asked.

"What was that she called you?" Rei added.

"Yes. It could have been much worse." He answered the blond. Turning to Rei he said, "It's my angelic name."

With that Shinji went back to his seat and resumed eating, as though both questions were answered to everyone's satisfaction.

ooo000OOO000ooo

When Lina awoke again she found her bed surrounded by all the people she knew, from Shinji's memories, to be her new family. She felt a bit overwhelmed but drew strength from the presence of the male pilot and smiled weakly. He handed her a glass of water that she drained immediately.

With her throat wet she spoke more normally, "It's good to meet you all at last. I hope we'll be able to be friends."

The honesty evident in the young woman's voice caused all the women around the bed to descend on her with mixed replies of, "I'm sure we will.", and, "Welcome to the family."

This outpouring of emotions was a little unnerving to the former Evangelion, causing her to respond by looking to Shinji for a cue as to her next actions. He nodded reassuringly with a gentle smile on his face.

This was all she needed to know the situation was normal and she returned the hugs she was receiving. When the group welcoming came to an end Misato commented, "We'll need to get some information from you when you feel up to it. For record keeping purposes." The last was hastily added to indicate it was a regular procedure.

"Of course. I suppose some excuse will have to be made for me appearing out of nowhere as an adult." Lina replied.

"Not really." Ritsuko said. "The MAGI are currently in the process of planting records for your birth and schooling in the necessary places. It's just taking a while since they have to recode the data to make it look like the files weren't just added."

"The main thing we'll need is a full voice print of security and some minor other things." Misato clarified.

"I see." She said. "If it can wait until I get used to talking it would probably be better."

"That's fine. Just need to get it done before you leave the base." Misato turned to the rest. "Hate to hug and run, but we're doing maintenance on Unit-00 today. Nice to meet you Lina." With that she waved and left.

Ritsuko sighed, "We all probably need to let her get some rest anyway."

They all nodded and began making their way to their appropriate places while giving a variety of goodbyes. Lina grabbed Shinji's arm and asked , "Could you stay for a moment, Anael?"

He motioned for the others to go on and pulled the curtain around the bed. Seating himself on the bed next to her Shinji took her hand. "What's wrong?"

"It's not something I can easily describe." Lina began hesitantly. "There are so many of them, and they all seem to be expecting something from me."

"They're not expecting anything from you. They just don't know what to expect, so you worry them a little. Misato is a tactician, always planning and imagining contingencies. Ritsuko is a scientist, trying to analyze the universe one object at a time. Gendo is a strategist." Shinji sighed, "He may be the oddest one as he makes plans on a much larger scale and tries to integrate every detail as well as he can."

He smiled before continuing, "Maya and Rei have always been introverted, only recently coming out. And then there's Asuka. She's such a bag of neuroses it's surprising that poor kid hasn't crumbled under the weight of it all. If she hadn't found some support when she got here I would be worried about her."

"But they're an accepting group. Give them time and be yourself, they'll come around." He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, wrapping his arms and AT field around her in a comforting gesture.

The former Eva relaxed into the embrace, letting the unfamiliar emotions flow over her. Her dread quickly abated in the face of such feelings. Never in her experience had she felt anything like this, the sense of love and belonging washing through her being.

The pair remained like this for a short eternity, finally separating when Shinji felt the emotions of the girl in his arms mirroring his own. Lina finally understood the concept of family from a perspective that hadn't belonged to someone else. She smiled at her pilot, "Thank you Anael, I hope to be a good addition to your family."

ooo000OOO000ooo

The homecoming of the three angelic humans proved to be something of interest to a great many people in NERV. First there were those who lived in the house they would be in, wanting to throw them a huge party. The second group, the security forces, put on another full contingent of personnel just to insure the safety of the large group as they made their way to the house.

Third were the observers sent by SEELE to try to gather some corroborating evidence on the subjects of the reports they had been receiving. Lastly was Shinji Ikari himself, as he just wanted a quiet, relatively speaking, evening with his family.

The group of eight left the Geofront in two black sedans under heavy guard, a total of thirty-two agents in six large black SUVs. The convoy moved quickly through the post rush hour traffic, making its way toward the house owned by the young man riding in the back of the front sedan. He was being snuggled by Rei and Maya as they had been unanimously chosen by the other women of his family to ride with him.

During the initial shock of Shinji's disappearance the other family members had withdrawn, the pain of loss had caused their old wounds to open. But these two young ladies had taken it upon themselves to hold the group together despite the growing chasms of despair forming between them. As a small part of their thanks the others had chosen to give them this position next to the one they all loved.

And so it was that two very contented people and one very worried one rode through the streets of Tokyo-3. After a few minutes of feeling his tenseness Rei asked, "What's wrong Shinji?"

He blinked, bringing himself back to the moment, "It's our enemies. They're so methodical that I find it hard to believe what I'm feeling. A second Angel is waking up, but something's wrong."

Shinji sighed before continuing, "I don't know everything about their rules, especially the limitation on numbers, and it's possible we may be facing two at once soon enough. But that doesn't explain Tabris. He is the last Angel and should be, by all rights, not even close to awakening."

"Then there's the fact that he's moving, but his field is still mostly in stasis mode. Add it all up and I can only think of one reason for this to happen."

"What's that?" Maya asked, sounding concerned.

"SEELE." He almost spat the word out. "The old bastards are trying to get an Angel to study."

The girls looked at each other, nodded, and proceeded to snuggle a little closer. Rei whispered in his ear, "Let it be for today. We can worry about saving the world tomorrow, but just be here with us tonight, please?"

He grinned and squeezed both of them tighter, "I think I can do that. Especially since I promised you both something special for the way you tried to help out while I was busy."

The rest of the trip passed by silently in the front car, while in the rear car Asuka was pelting Yui with questions regarding the old days with her mother. Despite the fact that her mother's suicide still hurt, Shinji and the soul fragment still in Unit-02 had gone a long way toward healing those scars. In addition the young girl knew almost nothing else about her mother.

Yui was regaling everyone in the car with tales of their exploits. "And then, this one time, we snuck into the Eva cages late at night. We were using Kozo's access code, so we wouldn't catch any flack about it. And we decided to redecorate Unit-01."

"We never did understand why it had to have a horn, but it was just too easy a target. So we repainted the whole head this neon pink. I mean the stuff that will burn out your retina, that pink. Except the horn, which we painted kind of a flesh color, with a ring of black just down from the tip."

Asuka were trying not to laugh when Gendo looked over at her and asked, "That was you? That almost cost me my job."

"Why's that?" the redhead asked.

"What we didn't know," Yui continued, "was that the next day we had a SEELE inspection. The old guys show up bright and early, before even the techs have gotten in. First thing they want to see is Project-E, and they walk in to find the largest phallus in the world standing at attention."

The commander of NERV was glaring playfully at his wife while Ritsuko, Misato and Asuka were almost breathless with glee at the mental image of that morning. Yui patted her husband's arm soothingly, saying, "You know you love me sweetie, even when I'm a bad girl."

He melted under her ministrations, muttering, "Especially when you're bad, you mean."

The red haired girl turned away screeching, "At least now I know where Shinji got his perverted streak from."

"One of his best traits." Misato and Ritsuko chorused.

ooo000OOO000ooo

The welcome home party went well, with every member having fun sitting around listening to stories from the gehirn days. The oddest part of it was when Shinji said, "You remember the time Kyoko put the virus simulator in the MAGI?"

This caused some of the family members to finally accept that he possessed all of his mother's memories as the three angelic humans laughed loudly before telling the story as a two sided monologue. The four women that shared a physical relationship with him wondered exactly what this would mean to their interactions.

They had spent as much time with him as they could during his long convalescence. During this time they had noticed subtle differences in his mannerisms and speech patterns that seemed to match his physical maturation. It seemed that the experience of being joined with Unit-01, and subsequently spawning a whole new species, had done something to change him from a cocky kid into a confident man. He was more sure of himself, no longer hiding behind a facade of bravery.

Ritsuko suspected it had to do with acquiring all the experiences of a person nearly twice his age. The way this could affect him in the future could be staggering, and with two fully functional and compatible S2 organs and AT fields his combat abilities should become truly terrifying.

Misato was thinking along the same lines, hypothesizing what his destructive potential would soon be with the knowledge of the only person to ever unravel the genetic code of an Angel. She remembered a conversation they had shortly after his return about the difficulties posed by losing the Eva. He had patiently explained that the giant of war was in no way gone, and would return when the need arose.

Rei was wondering about her own potential for growth and evolution, not consciously aware of the various and many limiters inserted into her genetic code to prevent just such an outcome. She knew that Unit-00 was different, derived from Adam and possessed by Naoko. But a part of her hoped she would one day be able to achieve the same level of power to protect those she cared about.

Lina was having a slightly more awkward time of it. The Evangelion turned human knew of the difficulties that existed between many of the members of this family, especially Shinji and Gendo. But it seemed something had happened in the time between their separation and her awakening. Somehow the elder Ikari was now just as close to his son as the young man had once hoped for. The sudden, from her perspective, change was a little disconcerting.

Then there were the memories in her head from Yui, the woman she drew her appearance from. The way she remembered Gendo was a little disturbing, especially the intimate parts. The conflict was causing her no small amount of trouble to reconcile. In the end Lina pushed it to the back of her mind, resolving to ask Shinji later, and decided to enjoy the party. After all, it was just as much her homecoming as theirs.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji woke the next morning in his favorite position. He had so missed the large bed and all the warmth generated by five bodies huddled together. The comfort provided by this was something he really didn't want to interrupt.

He looked at the clock next to the bed and realized that it was just barely still morning. The smell of food cooking wafted up the stairs, causing Misato to stir from the other side of Rei on his right. This set off a chain reaction of squirms and tightening grips that finally reached Ritsuko on the far end of the line.

Just as the clock indicated that half the day was gone Shinji decided to attempt the process of waking them all up. He turned to Maya and kissed her gently on the forehead. This started a series of embraces that finally ended with the brown haired girl doing her best to breathe through her ears. Shinji found no need to draw breath anymore, a situation he felt he would have to exploit in the future.

With the woman on his left awake me turned to Rei and repeated the process. This time it took a little longer to reach the conclusion, especially with the red eyed girl's hands seeming to move on their own. It took nearly ten minutes for her to release him, bright eyed and a little breathless.

The two girls carefully untangled themselves from the group and made their way out as Shinji woke the other two. Misato took little encouragement, being half way there already. But she seemed to be reluctant to let him go, somehow fearing what would happen if she lost him again.

After reassuring her sufficiently the pilot turned to the last remaining member of his close family and repeated the opening moves. After five minutes Misato made her way out, expecting that her best friend would take a little longer to rouse, at least without the help of caffeine.

Fifteen minutes later the blonde joined the other women in the bath, looking a little bit less like a walking corpse than usual, with a smile on her face. The women enjoyed the private moment, away from their lover, to gossip about all sorts of things, including him.

As they were leaving they saw the subject of their conversations heading for the bath. Each one of them gave him a kiss in passing and headed back to their room.

Shinji went into the outer bath and stripped down, wanting to soak for a while and consider some of what had been said the night before.

ooo000OOO000ooo

As the party had broken up the five lovers had made their way to the master bedroom. As they entered the room the four women had at once began shedding their clothing.

Upon noticing Shinji's hesitation they paused and Misato asked, "What's wrong kiddo?"

He sighed and took their hands. Leading them to the bed he said, "I think we need to talk about something."

As the women sat he repeated what he had told his father. When the unsure pilot was done he asked, "I've always tried to be honest with you. No matter what you decide I want you to know that I still love all of you." He drew a deep breath and proceeded, "Does this change how any of you feel about me?"

All four of them looked thoughtful for a moment before Rei asked, "So you have all of both your mother's and Unit-01's memories?"

"Yeah." Shinji answered, "It actually makes it kinda hard to look at my dad the same way anymore."

The girls giggled at this before Ritsuko spoke, "What Gendo said is right, you're still human. All that's changed is a few more of your dormant genes have been activated."

"I know. But this body feels so different. It's not something I can really describe, but even after a few weeks I still feel a little awkward in it."

"I think I speak for all of us Shinji." Maya said, "We fell for a dashing pilot with a wicked sense of humor and a heart of gold. The body doesn't matter, only the soul matters in the end." She placed her hand on his chest, "It's what's in here that matters to us. And I know that hasn't changed at all."

All of the women nodded their agreement. Misato smiled in a way she had picked up from him, "And as far as finding out about your body, I think we can help with that."

All four of them descended on him.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji smiled at the memory as he relaxed into the hot water. He had been completely open with them, and none of them had flinched away from him. Part of the pilot had been very worried about one or all of them rejecting him. Despite his bravado, the young man found he still needed them.

But he still felt odd, like he was missing something. Something that was sitting right under his nose, but he just couldn't see it.

After several minutes his train of thought was interrupted by a tap on the door. A voice called from the other side, "Anael, can I come in?"

In his relaxed state the young man finally realized what she was addressing him as. He answered, "Sure Lina, and call me Shinji."

The door slid open to reveal a naked young woman. He found it odd how much Lina resembled Rei and his mother. Then his mind settled on the thought of Rei looking like that in half a decade. Shinji smiled as she slipped into the water and sat across from him.

"What's on your mind?" He asked.

"I have been wondering about many things. Last night I felt like I was part of your family. But afterwards, when we went to our separate rooms, it was like something was missing." She was looking down, not wanting to feel like she was accusing him.

He realized what she was experiencing was the same feeling he was having. "It's like a part of you was missing?" She nodded. "I felt that way this morning. Are you asking for something Lina?"

"I would not choose to impose on you, A...Shinji. You have already invited me into your home, but yes." Her demeanor changed, shifting into something more aggressive. "I don't want to feel that again. It hurt, and I felt like I used to when you would leave me in the cages."

"Calm down Lina." Shinji said soothingly as he went to her and wrapped his arms around her. "I can't make this decision on my own, and you know why. But if you want it that badly I don't see any problems with it."

"Thank you Shinji." Lina said, relaxing in his arms. "I was afraid you were going to treat me like all of you used to."

"Shhh. Enough of that." He whispered. "I just didn't want to hand you too many different things at once. You only have a few days of experience as a human. And even with both of our memories your mind is going to react differently to things. It's the curse of being human."

"I know you explained it to me, but actually feeling it is a very frightening thing. How do you cope with the chaos of it?" Lina was wrapping herself around him like a small child afraid of the dark.

"That is another thing you have to learn for yourself. I'm not trying to be mean, but it's just another individual thing." He set her on the shelf again and held his hand up. "Let's try this."

She pressed her palm against his and a soft glow emanated from the points if contact. After a minute they separated, causing the lighting in the room to return to normal.

Lina smiled, "Thank you. I think I understand a little better now."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji knew he had to handle this situation quickly, before his fellow super-human went off the handle. He had sensed the control issues she was having during their link. The former Eva was still filled with a substantial amount of rage, though thankfully less than before. But she had so little experience with dealing with human situations that it made her frustrated. And when Lina got frustrated it could be a bad day for all of Tokyo-3. Shinji shuddered to think of what it would do to Lina after she calmed down and realized she did that much damage.

He may have been able to restrain her initial spike in the hospital. But that was an unformed fear reaction. The pilot had no delusions that the girl had more experience with an AT field than he did, she was after all an Eva. And if she went on a rampage it would take both him and Yui to contain the damage.

Unfortunately for Shinji he also had to consider the feelings of those he had made a commitment to. This put him in a bad spot, as he knew that at least one of them had taken some time to warm up to the idea of sharing him at all.

Deciding the thing was best done quickly, he asked all five women to join him in the master bedroom after breakfast. Seeing as he had guests it would be best to have this conversation out of sight.

When they had all assembled he asked the four regulars to sit while Lina stood at his side. The women of his family relaxed on the bed and Maya said, "Okay, out with it. What has you two so worked up?"

Shinji smiled at her, remembering how shy and bookwormish the woman had seemed when first they met. "Lina has a request to make. As it affects the structure of our family I feel that you should all have a chance to hear it and make your own decisions." He held up his hand to forestall any guessing, "I personally ask that you hear her out."

With that he took a seat on the bed, relaxing with his family, while he hoped they wouldn't be too freaked out by this. The women moved closer to him, producing a scene that rather closely resembled a certain statue in a temple on the outskirts of the city.

Lina faced them, unsure of herself, "As you know, I have all of Shinji's memories as well as his mother's. This has left me with a more or less academic understanding of what it feels like to have a family and people to care about. I know that you love each other very much."

Looking a little unsure of herself, Lina glanced at Shinji. He smiled supportively and nodded for her to continue. "I wish to join you. I've never felt this way before, but I do know need him." She finished in little more than a whisper.

Misato sighed, "Can't say I didn't expect it. And I know what it's like to need him like that. I don't have any problems."

Maya chuckled, "I knew coming in it was a package deal. I would love to have you to join us."

Rei blushed slightly, "I would be happy to have you join us." Her voice was just as meek as it had been before she met Shinji.

He looked at her, "What is it Rei?"

"I was just thinking that Lina and I are almost sisters. And yet I do not feel that kind of bond toward her." The red eyed girl said. "It is a little confusing."

She took a breath and lifted her eyes to the possible version of herself in a matter of years, "I would still love for you to join us."

With that settled all eyes fell on the blond scientist. She smiled back, "Just as Misato said, we all know the feeling of needing him. And each other." She looked at the two younger members, "I would be a hypocrite if I denied that need in another. And I have tried to rid myself of such things. Welcome to the family Lina."

The woman rushed to the bed and threw herself around the male pilot's neck. Soon they were joined by the others and the situation quickly devolved into a group hug that resembled a dog pile.

All of them were extremely happy to be a family.

ooo000OOO000ooo

After a few days Ritsuko decided it was time for them to get back to work. The commander had not been seen outside his apartment since he and his wife returned to the Geofront the same morning her family grew by one.

Akagi had dragged Shinji down to her lab for some tests, wanting to collect as much data as she could about this new species as she could. Now she had him sitting with his shirt off and electrodes all over his upper body.

The pilot grumbled after five minutes, "Do we really have to go through this? You collected enough data when we were in the hospital to publish a few papers at least."

"That was in a controlled environment. Now that you've been out in the world we have to take more readings." She said distractedly. "Besides, I have a few questions you never answered."

"Then pull up a seat and ask. Your machine will record everything for later anyway." He replied.

Doing as he suggested, the blond brought a clipboard with her. "Alright. First, how do you insert into Lina now?"

Catching a double meaning the scientist obviously missed he smiled deviously, "I think you saw how the past few nights."

Taking a moment to catch on, she faintly blushed and slapped his arm lightly, "Cut that out. You know what I mean. How do you join with her?"

"I fail to see that as a different question." Shinji answered playfully.

Beginning to get a little frustrated Ritsuko decided on a different approach. "Shortly after you came to in the hospital you assured us that Unit-01 was not gone forever." He nodded at her pause. "Would you please describe the process by which this could be possible?"

"As you know the Angels are capable of modifying their DNA at will, upgrading themselves in the field." Shinji waited for her to nod before continuing. "It's much the same process for us. But on our own it takes about the same amount of time as it would for them."

"Now with us working together, we can accomplish even more drastic changes in a fraction of the time. So all we need to do is be close to each other and we can become the Eva no matter where we are." The look on the scientist's face was so priceless he couldn't help but laugh.

"Is that what she meant about needing you?" Ritsuko asked.

"Part of it." He said with a shrug. "But it's mostly a side effect of always having someone there while she was merged with mom. It can get lonely when you suddenly have only your own thoughts in your head."

He changed subject and looked her in the eyes, "So what did you find out about Rei?"

"What do you mean?" Was the blonde's response.

"I figure she's already thinking about how she can evolve like us. I assume you already had a look at her genetic code. So what did you find?" His tone was worried, as he hoped the damage was not too extensive.

"I don't think there's anything I can do to help her. The limiters are very specifically placed to do the most damage. I want you to know I had nothing to do with this." She was a little frantic at the end, knowing how much this would hurt her family. She handed over a stack of printouts with page after page of coding.

Shinji noticed the places where she had circled a certain set of genes in red. Then another, and another. He scowled, "Whoever did this knew exactly where to put them. Dirty bastard." He spat this last part.

As he finished the last page he threw the document on the desk and crossed his arms. "So if she manages to active any of her abilities the coding causes her genome to become unstable, killing her within a few weeks at best. Damn, this is gonna take forever to fix."

Akagi looked at him, happy surprise evident on her face, "You mean you can help her?"

He snapped his head around and realized what she had been worried about. His expression softened and he hugged her, "Yeah. It'll take time, but we can help her. I'm sorry I got so mad, and it wasn't at you. I just don't like anyone fucking with my family like that."

"What about the dummy plug program?" She asked with her head on his shoulder.

"As much as I might like the prospect of not having to lose her in battle, discontinue it permanently. Dad's pretty much lost interest in it and I don't think the transfer data is even up to date anymore, so just let her be the only Rei."

ooo000OOO000ooo

"What have we learned from the Angel?" Keel Lorenz asked his science director.

"The shell is still impenetrable. We have tried every method short of detonating an N2 mine on it." The frail old man said. He had known Lorenz since he was in college and the man had never seen his old friend look this worried. "As far as we can tell it is a modified AT field that has been layered to the point where it is resilient to even positron weapons."

"Continue testing." Keel said. "We need to find an exploitable weakness so we can break Gendo's monopoly on killing Angels."

"Of course, old friend." The senior scientist said as he left the room.

ooo000OOO000ooo

"I can't believe it's been a month since the last attack." Asuka said as she walked into the command center with Lina and Shinji.

"It hasn't been for me. I slept through too much of it." Shinji replied. "But I wouldn't expect it to stay that way for long. The next Angel is on the move."

Ritsuko walked over holding two things that looked like laser pointers. "Good, you're here. These are basically laser pointers that have been fitted with directional sensors. If you go up on the upper deck Shinji, and point in the direction you can feel the Angel from, and you Lina do the same from the lower deck. We're basically doing a double blind test so we know which direction to point the sensors in. Then we can focus the AT sensors in that direction and get a good reading of Angel."

The pilot and eva took the devices and follow the blonde's instructions. Lina was the first in position, as she had simply jumped over the edge, landing lightly on top of one of the MAGI, almost forty feet below. Shinji then leapt up onto his father's desk, a similar distance in the opposite direction. He climbed down and held his right arm out in the direction of the enemy's signal.

The data flowed through the MAGI, and all the sensors of the fortress city focused on a point off the east coast of the island nation. After the previous incidents it had been decided that, unless the Angel was less than a mile when away when it was first detected, there was no good reason to have blaring sirens echoing through the building. The original protocol had been developed because it was somewhat unforeseeable to be able to pinpoint the enemy before it got close enough to be an immediate threat.

Several of the holographic monitors flickered to show a nondescript blob. The target was just barely within the useful range of the detection equipment, so the resolution was understandably low. Another changed to show a pattern analysis, identifying the object as an Angel.

Just as they were starting to get the specifics of the enemy's approach all the screens went blank. Shinji and Lina took their fingers off the triggering button and said in unison, "Ah, shit!"

Misato ran to the edge of her platform and shouted, "What happened?"

Shinji smiled slightly, "Clever. This Angel's gone silent."

Maya reported, "If heads straight for us, from the readings we got it will be here in three days."

"Then we have two days to be ready for Matariel." The male pilot's voice held a degree of command to it. Everyone began working quickly, but not frantically. They all had faith that somehow the hero of NERV would manage to pull their bacon out of the fire again."

ooo000OOO000ooo

I'd like to thank my best friend Birga for proof reading this for me. Also, thanks for those that have followed the fic from the beginning. Lastly, thanks for the reviews.


	17. Chapter 17: A New Kind of Eva

Disclaimer: You're reading Fan-Fic. Enough Said.

A/N: Sorry about the long wait for this short chapter. Ran into a snag here and there and couldn't milk this one for any more length.

Hentai Shinji Chapter 17: A New Kind Of Eva

Three days. It's a long time to wait for what could be your death. Even with the best weapons that humanity had been able to create, evolved into something even better, Shinji was finally starting to come to terms with his own mortality. This was one side effect of becoming more mature. He sat in his office just having finished watching a rather dark pre-impact movie, again. The great thing about having the MAGI around was that every last scrap of art, using the term loosely, that had survived the decimation of humanity was stored digitally within them.

One line from that movie was currently repeating over and over again in his mind, "Childhood's over the moment you know you're gonna die." He didn't know why he couldn't stop thinking about this, but the longer he sat there the more it meant to him. His main point of concern was that he knew he could not die of natural causes. His aging process was nothing more than cosmetic, with him able to change it almost at will. Disease. There were no diseases made that could survive his immune system for even an instant. The one exception to this might be an Angel virus, and he truly hoped the enemy never went that route.

The only way he could be killed was through the application of staggering levels of energy combined with a nearly astronomical amount of force. But this was what the Angels could conceivably produce, especially if two of them worked together.

All that he could think of in response to this was that he would not permit himself to die as long as his loved ones were still alive. He had seen the pain they suffered when they believed him dead, and would not put them through that again. Now he just had to find a way to make that happen. Find a way to stop every possible, no matter how improbable, branch of evolution from asserting itself on humanity.

Shaking his head to clear these thoughts he once again read the reports from the survey craft sent to investigate the course of Matariel. Two fighters had been dispatched first. They had been flying high to get a good camera sweep of the area. And while those cameras had managed to pick up something, before the image could be fully transmitted back to NERV the planes had lost all power, forcing the pilots to eject before their craft went nose first into the drink.

Next they sent in a pair of destroyers, which had also lost power completely until one managed to drift outside the area of effect and reported the problem. They described it as a complete power failure, preceding a reactor shut down that had only just finished.

Finally a shielded UAV was sent out to investigate. This little craft had multiple battery backups and enough advanced alloys protecting its systems that would theoretically survive the EMP from a standard nuke. The remote aircraft had hit the water in an uncontrolled dive after the fourth redundancy failed. The images it had sent back were almost as worthless as the initial AT scans of the approaching threat.

"So the fucker finally got smart and decided to cut our power source." Shinji said to himself, "If only they had thought about that a little earlier."

The house was empty except for Lina, as it was midday and everyone else had other places to be. The young woman who was the most recent addition to his family had quickly integrated into the routine of the house, even taking her share of the cooking duties. With the memories of both Shinji and Yui to draw from her skill was almost astounding.

Glancing at his watch the angelic human pilot decided it was time to go show the young woman the fun of shopping. Besides, it would take his mind off of things for a little while.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Three hours later the pair was laughing as they left yet another clothing store. They had decided to have everything shipped to the house, leaving them generally unencumbered. Shinji found that he liked hearing Lina happy like she was now, it help him to remember what they were fighting for.

Both of them suddenly froze as they felt a Territory wash over them. The feeling was like a cold winter breeze on a thin layer of sweat and made them feel sick to their stomachs. As suddenly as the feeling had started it pass, their own Absolute Territory reasserting control.

Every electronic device in the area suddenly stopped working as the wave of energy passed over it, leaving the whole city dead in the face of the attack.

Shinji took the girls hand, opening the connection to her and amplifying their powers. He quickly explained what he wanted to try and reached out with his thoughts. The mental landscape was different from what he was used to, full of tiny bubbles against a swirling undercurrent representing normal humans in a waking state. Off in the distance he could see a bright spire of light and he dove toward it.

Arriving at the surface of the mind he requested contact and was relieved to find his mother receptive. The three of them appeared on a grassy plain again.

"What's going on Shinji?" Yui asked.

"It's the Angel. It's disrupting the power over the whole city. Lina and I are in town and will try to deal with it, but you may need to get the other Evas deployed." The pilot said.

"Won't they have the same problem?"

"The batteries should be fully charged, and once Units 00 and 02 are active their AT fields should protect them. You just have to find Asuka and Rei and get them to the cages."

"We'll get them out as soon as possible son." She hugged her child warmly, "Just be careful while you're giving us the chance."

He broke the connection and returned all his attention to his body. Looking around Shinji found many people walking around wondering what was going on. He yelled at them, "There's an Angel coming. Get to the shelters and tell anyone you see along the way."

"How do you know that kid?" One of the shop owners asked, not willing to take the word of someone who looked eighteen for what might be just a minor power out.

"I'm Shinji Ikari." The man paled, immediately turning to close his business. This move was mirrored by many of the others on the street while the shoppers went fleeing toward the nearest shelter.

"Okay." Shinji started, looking to Lina, "We know what direction that came from, so let's proceed on foot until we actually see the thing."

"In this form or as the Eva?" She asked, running to keep up with him.

"Human form for now. We can keep our presence hidden for a few more minutes and hopefully get clear of the densely populated areas before we need to change. There's no point in letting our opponent know its plan won't work until the last moment."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Gendo Ikari was glad he had ordered the other two Evas prepped for combat and their pilots put on high standby. Now he just wished that Central Dogma was closer to the Eva cages. It had never been considered that anyone would have to traverse the complex on foot, as the reactor in the heart of the Geofront was actually the main power source for the city above. There was never a reason to think that all electronics might be disabled.

The director of NERV found himself having to walk and climb down to the cages to take charge of the group already there. He had sent a runner ahead to tell them to prepare to switch the Evas to batteries and get the entry plugs ready. Hopefully the AT fields generated by the massive engines of war would shield them from the effects of the Angel far above, but they would only get one shot, and that was a slim one at best.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Asuka was getting impatient. She should be up there in the thick of it with Shinji and Rei backing her up. Not sitting down here in a worthless bay, housing a non-functional cyborg, on a dead base. No matter how quickly she managed to get out there it would still be the pervert taking the lead, and not her.

A month ago this would have driven her into a mad rampage against the technician who could do nothing more than she could about the system. Now she was taking the situation in stride as she stood on the catwalk she had helped maneuver into position. The fiery teen was suited and ready to go, leaning against the secondary hatch for the entry plug. But she was still getting impatient.

Rei, by contrast was sitting patiently in a perfect lotus position. As she meditated to clear her mind and center her thoughts the red eyed girl focused on finding the power hidden deep in her genetic material. She had all the tools necessary to undergo a similar transformation to that of her love, but without the catalyst of emotionally driven necessity it still eluded her.

As the part angel girl sat there she wondered about all the things that Shinji had told her. He knew that she wanted to be able to achieve levels similar to his, simply so she could help him protect their entire family. He had also known about her attempts to achieve this state in past battles. But her lover had been adamant that she not do anything until he and Lina could fix the death triggers that had been inserted into her code. Shinji asked her to be patient until they could make sure that her trying to attain the full potential of her DNA wouldn't kill her.

ooo000OOO000ooo

In human form, even with their massively powerful biology, and limited to legs and feet the angelic humans could only maintain thirty miles an hour. In their Eva form they could have cleared the entire city in under a minute, and flying would have gone even faster, but that would have been tipping their hand.

They reached the edge of the city and Shinji grabbed Lina by the shoulders, forcing her against a wall. He pressed himself into her, trying to hide them behind the corner of the building. They both snuck their heads out, peering up at the crest of the mountain that formed the outer edge of the urban center.

Coming over the ridge was what looked like a wire frame octahedron with the top caved in. In the center of this form was a lentricular body covered in eyes of various sizes. The Angel was floating on its AT field, silently drifting toward the center of the city.

"Shit. I was trying to catch it outside the city." He closed his eyes for a second. "At least there's no one in the area right now."

"Should we?" Lina asked.

He nodded, leading her around to the far side of the building. Once there he took both her hands and focused on engulfing her in his Territory. The young woman did the same, trying to merge them into one being.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Matariel believed that it had found the perfect way to defeat its foe. Remembering the problems the abominations had faced when their precious cords had been cut while fighting Sandalphon, the Angel had decided to remove their power source. Without their precious energy it would be a simple matter of melting down into the cradle and finding Adam.

All these thoughts quickly fled the giant spider's mind when it picked up the presence of not one, but two very powerful AT fields flaring to life far too close for its comfort. The Angel swung the primary sensing eye, as all the others had another purpose, toward the source of the disturbance.

Rising from behind a building was one of the Lilim creations. It glowed brighter than the sun, its duel cores clearly visible as even more luminescent red orbs in the thing's chest. As the Eva reached its full height the light dimmed, revealing an armored carapace of black alloys. This armor was much harder than the old, as it only had to protect and not restrain, and was layered like scales around the vital points. A faint red light shown between the plates of the chest.

Across the face of the Eva the plates separated to reveal a mouth full of curved metallic teeth, each easily over a meter long, shining in the sunlight as it threw its head back and roared.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Both the component personalities of Unit-01 were reveling in the power they felt coursing through their body. This is what it meant to be alive as an Evangelion. The enemy right in front of you and no other distractions to interfere with the kill. The male half of the personality may have found the feeling distasteful when he was a human, but the Eva Shinji finally understood the blood lust that fueled Lina's battle mentality.

The Eva settled and trained all its sensors on the enemy. The thing hung there, considering them for a moment. Suddenly one of its legs blew off, severed at the uppermost joint by a slashing AT attack.

The creature launched several balls of glowing orange liquid in response as it settled to the ground.

Unit-01 threw up an AT field to block the attack. The liquid splashed against the field and, to their astonishment, ate through the barrier. A second later the last projectile flew through a gap and landed near the Eva's leg. The acidic substance began dissolving the plates and eating into the flesh underneath.

Jumping out of the way of several more attacks, the Eva landed and immediately went to one knee in pain.

Forced onto the defensive, Unit-01 began to circle around the target, focusing on cleansing and healing the wound while avoiding any further damage.

Matariel was in a similar state, unable to make an escape while it was short a leg, and unable to fly while both healing and attacking.

Finally the unified being felt its foot finish healing and Shinji agreed with Lina that it was better to fight close to the enemy. Unit-01 launched itself into the air, using both AT fields to simultaneously deflect the attacks and provide steps to continue upward.

When the Eva was around two hundred feet above the Angel the attacks finally stopped coming close enough to be of concern. The alien creature was still firing at them, but the angle was in its blind spot where the legs connected to the body.

Noticing the severed leg of the target was nearly healed, Unit-01 reshaped their AT fields to dive straight at the heart of their enemy. AT enhanced acid splashed against the edges of their barriers when they got close enough, though they were barely concerned with the effect since they were nearly at their target.

Just before the Eva struck the center of the Angel the hail of attacks ceased and an AT field sprung to life in their path. The field almost instantly collapsed from the combined interference of two opposing fields, but it was enough to stop the black death machine cold.

Landing on the back of the huge spider Shinji began looking for a flaw in the gleaming outer shell. Lina focused on keeping them upright as the beast started moving, carrying them back into Tokyo-3.

Spotting a chink in the armor Unit-01 pulled a blade shaped protrusion from its shoulder and began charging it. The black material of the blade blurred, drawing in all the light touching it until there was nothing but an outline of nothingness where the organic alloy used to be.

The knife was plunged into the joint of one of the legs, unleashing a torrent of orange liquid that burned the right arm of the Eva up to the elbow.

Ignoring the pain they drove forward, seeking out the core of the huge monster. When the Angel shrieked in utter pain, its body shuddering, they turned the blade upward and lifted. The various liquids and organs that pulled out along with the faintly glowing energy production module spewed more acid around, including onto the Eva.

Howling in pain the pair of minds focused on holding the essence of the enemy steady despite the damage. The Eva watched as the glow faded from the object, indicating it was being destroyed from the inside. Finally the outer shell cracked and shattered, the pieces falling into the space surrounding the blade.

Unit-01 threw itself into the air, twisting to bring the weapon in its hand around. Releasing the field caused a massive gout of high energy particles to lance down into the collapsing body of the now dead enemy.

The flesh of the Angel liquefied and boiled under the energy beam that struck it. Soon the entire area was a blackened cinder where once had been an alien threatening to destroy all of humanity.

The Eva came crashing back down, screaming in agony from the places on its body that had been touched by the acid. With the Angel dead it had reverted to regular acid, no longer a threat to Unit-01. But the parts that were already burned cried out in protest as the giant black form writhed on the ground.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Within the Geofront all the systems suddenly came back online, startling those sitting before their consoles wondering what was happening above. The lights were blinding for a moment as the huge banks of fluorescents flickered to life. Then the computers, including the MAGI, spun into working order again. Finally the video feeds from the surface came up.

The scene shown was of a completely redesigned Unit one. Besides the differences in the armor Misato could also see that the arms and legs were now more proportional to the body, alleviating the upright ape look the Evas possessed. The huge shoulder pauldrons had been replaced with three spikes on each shoulder. Finally, the whole thing looked like it had some serious heat damage. She assumed this might have been caused by the battle as the armor was slowly shifting from repairs.

A voice that sounded like both Shinji and Lina came over the speakers, "Could someone open Elevator E-3 so we can come back down?"

Yui grabbed the handset and asked, "Shinji, Lina, are you two okay?"

"We're both fine mom." A voice that sounded more like the male pilot answered. "We just got a little singed."

"It was incredible Yui." Lina's voice said. "Almost better than sex."

"I assume that since we have power again the Angel is dead?" Maya asked.

"Yeah, it's history. So how 'bout that hatch?" The combined voice asked again.

Several switches were thrown and the giant doors of the Evangelion scale rail-gun catapult opened.

Gendo's voice came onto the channel, "I'm not sure you're compatible with the clamps anymore."

"Not to worry old man." His son commented, "We weren't planning on using that mechanism anyway."

The massive black form jumped into the air, twisting like a gymnast, before plunging directly into the long tube that lead down into the heart of humanities effort for survival. There were many gasps as the streak of metal and flesh disappeared from all their screens.

For obvious reasons no one had ever thought it prudent to put cameras in the launch tubes. So no one had any idea what happened between the time the Eva went head first into the abyss and when two humans came to a halt on the ground floor of the launch apparatus.

Ritsuko was looking a little perturbed when Shinji and Lina floated over to the catwalks. "You could have waited a few seconds and let me get a good reading on your transformation."

Shinji smiled the trademark Ikari smile, "You can't expect to understand all the secrets of the universe in one day."

"Besides," Lina said, "You'll get to see it when the next Angel shows up."

The rest of the family had arrived by this time, Maya in the lead, "Hey Lina, what happened to the horn?"

"You really think I'm going to wear the world's biggest dick on my face if I have a choice?" The Eva asked. "Why do you think I was always so irritable before?"

ooo000OOO000ooo

Thanks to my best friend Birga for beta reading this for me.


	18. Chapter 18: Healing and Reconciliation

Hentai Shinji Chapter 18: Healing and Reconciliation

Despite the recent victory, which had cost only a few buildings on the outskirts of the industrial district, moral in Tokyo-3 was at an all-time low. After the first few attacks, which had happened with a maddening regularity, the month's respite that had been enjoyed by the inhabitants had been welcome. It had given back some of the hope that had disappeared during the war. Now that new-found hope was shattered, all in one day, because of one entity that had lasted less than three minutes in combat with their defender.

Without power there was no warning of the pending attack. If the Angel had come in at one of the residential districts the loss of life would have been staggering. In light of this two things happened. First, many people decided to leave the city. None of them were NERV employees, but the mass exodus still took a heavy number of shop owners, civilian employees, and civil workers, like teachers, with it. As many of these had families, they also left, requiring a complete reorganization of many public services, including the school system, to accommodate the new numbers.

Secondly, NERV enacted some new protocols. Chief among these was the lifting of the secrecy about any future attacks. As soon as the organization knew an attack was coming they would release the information to the public, giving people as much warning as possible. This would, at the very least, give everyone time to reach a shelter, if not leave town altogether for the day.

Gendo figured the old men would have a field day when they found out about this. But he honestly didn't care what those bastards thought. After regaining his family, the commander of NERV had become much more approachable. Gone was the cold, manipulative man of old. Replacing him was one of the finest minds of his age, with a wife and child to fight for. He was a force of nature, unstoppable and relentless, yet still willing to sit and have a cup of coffee with those on his staff. Or the city council for that matter.

The most surprising sign of this transformation took place in his office. The floor and ceiling decorations were unchangeable, but the lighting had been altered so as not to accentuate it. Five more chairs, of the overstuffed comfortable variety, now surrounded a round coffee table sitting before his desk. It was not uncommon for his wife and son to show up with a lunch they had brought from home. They would force him to take a break, eating and talking life a family. The end result of all this was that he now understood. He had things that he never wanted to loose, just like everyone else. The once fearless man now understood fear. And so he had decided to do whatever he could to help the inhabitants of his city protect that which they wished to keep safe.

Aside from that, life in Tokyo-3 continued mostly as normal. Kids went to school. Adults went to work. People lived, and loved, and learned. There were even a few additions to the city's population to help offset the losses. Most of these were specialists, engineers and technicians, brought in by NERV to help with a massive project. It seemed that there was a minor diminishing effect on the Angel's dampening field as it got deeper into the fortress. No one was sure what had caused the bubble around Terminal Dogma, but that section's battery backups had remained online despite the absolute loss of all power just a few hundred feet away.

This was a phenomenon that the senior staff wanted to figure out. Mainly because any substance that could shield against the effects of an AT Field would prove invaluable in the future.

ooo000OOO000ooo

One evening, a week after Matariel's attack, Shinji was sitting in the living room with everyone but Asuka and Rei. The two absent members were currently making dinner, leaving the rest to pass the time until it was done. As usual Maya had a tablet in her lap, in an almost Zen trance while she drew. Though the male pilot had not intended to, he had become so swamped with other things that the bridge bunny was the one submitting ninety percent of the work for their website. They still brought a tidy profit, but nothing like they used to when he could devote more time to it.

Ritsuko was also using a tablet, but she was doing work for her job. There were hundreds of forms to be filled out and filed, especially after an attack. There were dozens of samples to be analyzed and stored. And finally there was the repair order, fortunately only for the city and not the Eva this time. Due to the complexity of the Evas even the smallest nick cost more that replacing an entire building on the surface.

Misato had her own stack of paperwork she was sifting through, requisitions, usage reports, and the ever-present complaint letters. The tactical director had no idea how to answer these most of the time. Mainly this lack of knowledge stemmed from the letters being an attack from people who knew what they were getting into when they decided to set up shop in Tokyo-3. What could she say, 'I'm sorry for your loss. But you did know about the risks before you even moved here. So don't piss and moan because your building got squashed while we were fighting to save your whiney ass.' The thought had some appeal to it, still she was supposed to be putting a positive face on NERV.

Fortunately, this time there were only five letters. Four were either business or land owners and the last was from The Friends of the Earth. This group was an all in one environmental group that had popped up in the latter half of last year. One of the side effects of Second Impact was that people were so busy trying to survive that extraneous tasks, like being an uninformed joiner, took a back seat. This caused many of the more pacifistic organizations to dry up, eventually having to disband due to lack of funding. As for the more militant groups, being violent during a worldwide state of open violence has a tendency to get you shot at. By people who are better armed and armored, with more ammo. This took care of the rest, leaving nothing more than lip-service allegiances to any given movement.

But with the stabilization of many world economies came people with the time, money, and self delusion to resurrect the old movements. This group was now bitching up a storm about how the most recent battle added another thirteen acres to the total of forest land destroyed during Angel attacks. This one even threatened acts of terror if they didn't find some way to minimize the effect these battles were having on the environment.

Luckily the commander had given her a free hand when dealing with such idiots. She typed up a quick letter of recommendation, attached the complaint, and sent the whole thing to Section 2. Let the security department deal with terrorists. It wouldn't be as messy as turning an Eva loose on them.

Then there were the two angelic humans of the household. Shinji and Lena were pouring over endless sheets of computer printout. On it was everything you ever wanted to know about Rei Ayanami's genetic code. The same pattern had been held every night the two didn't have to cook, often with Yui there to help.

Ritsuko was a little jealous of her love's newly acquired abilities in the field of genetics. It had taken her many long years of school to gain the knowledge she had. Many more years of work to turn that information into a working skill set in the subject. And despite all that work Shinji had been handed a level of experience in genetics that far exceeded her own.

There were only two things that kept her from being really envious of the young man. The first was the fact of what he had to go through to get it, and that it was an unexpected side effect of the process. He had no idea what was going to happen when he merged with Unit-01, and had done so to save their lives. The second reason was that he was now using that knowledge to help a member of their family.

It had taken the blond scientist a while to come to the realization, but she now thought of all of them as her family. Even the loud mouth redhead was more like a little sister, someone to be guided and comforted, than a ward.

Shinji glanced at a blinking light on the tablet at his knee. Lifting the screen to where he could read it he opened the email that was waiting. He read it in absolute silence, his face stiffening up with each sentence.

Finally he typed in a quick rely, "Please don't come. It's not safe here."

He set the pad down again and looked up to see everyone there watching him. He sighed, "We should expect to have company in a few days. I asked her not to come, but she won't listen."

Lina wrinkled her brow, "Misaki is coming here?" she looked around at the assembled women. "She may not understand this."

He chuckled, "She probably would actually. The rest of you may not remember me saying, but when we first met she was a lot like Lina and Misato. She had seen the effect I had on another woman and had to know what caused it."

"Then why did you ask her not to come?" Misato asked.

"Are you ashamed of us?" Maya asked, a slight quiver in her voice.

"Of course not." Shinji said, walking over to take the young woman in his arms. "I love all of you, even the redheaded firestorm who likes to serve way too spicy food. I still love her as well, but if she comes here she'll want to stay."

"I've already told you that I would give anything to have this war taking place far away from civilians." His face firmed up as he steeled himself to get through this. "And I even wish you girls didn't have to be involved. But we all have to be here. She doesn't. No matter what she will be an innocent bystander and if I can get her out of harm's way..."

Shinji fell silent as he thought of all the people that had been hurt or killed in this damn war. He would do whatever was necessary, short of hurting her to make Misaki leave this city and never come back.

Ritsuko walked over and joined the hug. It felt like the situation had reversed and now Shinji was the one clinging to the two women for support. "If you can keep her out of harm's way that's one less of your loved ones you have to worry about getting hurt in this war."

He nodded, unable to speak.

All the women present joined in the hug, offering their moral support.

After an eternity of ten minutes Asuka walked in. "Dinner's ready, whoa. What's going on here guys?"

Misato looked up as they disentangled themselves, "Shinji got a message from his old girlfriend. She's coming here."

Maya spoke next, "He doesn't want her to because she doesn't belong here. If she comes, he's sure she'll want to stay."

"And I will not have another innocent in harm's way if I can prevent it." Shinji said, most of his confidence having returned.

Asuka smiled warmly, feeling some pride in her sort of brother. She had to admit that she made a lot of assumptions when she first got to Tokyo-3, most of them false. She had learned many things about her family in that time and found that, even though he was a pervert, Shinji was also an honorable man. He hated all the loss of this stupid fighting and would do anything to stop it. "Do we have a plan for getting her to decide not to stay?"

"I have a few ideas." Shinji said. "But I won't do anything to hurt her. I couldn't live with myself if that happened."

"Then we should prepare for company." Ritsuko said.

ooo000OOO000ooo

"What have you found out?" Gendo asked from behind his desk.

Fuyutsuki slid a copy of the file he had across the desk and reclined into a chair. "From what I've been able to get from inside SEELE, it appears that he's on our side."

Ikari shuffled the papers for a moment, glancing at stray pieces of text. Many years in the intelligence community had taught him how to read reports quickly. "He will always be on his own side. It may just happen that Ryoji sees us as his best chance for surviving this."

"Is he right?" Kozo asked.

"So long as he doesn't get any weird ideas." Gendo sighed as he placed the documents back in their folder. "You know, old friend, it was so much easier to make these decisions when I wasn't human."

"Do you regret your decision to rejoin us lowly mortals?" This particular path was well worn between the two. But it was reassuring to the second-in-command every time they had it.

"What I regret was leaving you to start with. The freedom of being the monster, with nothing to lose, can be quite liberating." The elder Ikari paused for a moment, weighing his words a little. Finally he decided his best friend deserved the honesty he had been denied. "I will never regret coming back. And especially not the family I found waiting for me upon my return. But I find that I can't be as ruthless as I used to be. That may cost us in the long run."

"You're not alone at the top anymore. You have family and friends standing with you in defiance of the night."

The once student chuckled as his former teacher's words, "Speaking of which, they should be here any minute to rescue me from work. Would you care to join us?"

ooo000OOO000ooo

Kaji finished putting the final touches on the scene around him. This one looked like a mugging gone wrong. The second SEELE operative to enter this city since the purge now lay dead in some alley where he would be found in a day or two. His wallet was sitting a few feet away, emptied of anything valuable.

The spy really hated this kind of work. It was a waste of too much talent in the art of spy craft. But he was more worried about his own skin in this case, and to hell with the morality.

Carefully opening a secret pocket on the man's coat, Ryoji found an unlabeled disc. He quickly fished through his own pockets until he found a similar item. Replacing it and resealing the hidden pouch, his work was finished.

The former SEELE operative made his way out of the deep alley. He stripped off his gloves, throwing them into a bag marked for burnable trash at the mouth of the street. The truck would be by later that day, making it a clean job.

He really hated this part of the job.

ooo000OOO000ooo

"And that's pretty much it. Her message said she would be here Thursday." Shinji had just finished explaining his most recent concern, even his concerns about innocents in the combat zone.

"Son," Yui started, "I understand your feelings. But you will have to face the possibility that she will want to stay."

"If you're not prepared to drive her off, and I fully support you there, then I think the best course of action will be to integrate her into your group as best you can. The city's shelters are quiet safe, and I suppose we could even get her a limited access card that would take her into the personal apartments of the Geofront." Gendo had a grin on face as he spoke. Not his patented Ikari smirk that inspired fear in the most hardened heart, but the grin of a father proud of the man his son had become.

Kozo thought this would be a good time to voice an alternative scenario, "Are you sure she'll be able to accept the way you currently live?"

Shinji's mother beat him to the punch on this one, "From what we remember of her, that is the least of his concerns."

The pilot nodded, "We started going out because of a situation that happened with another woman. Long story." He cut off the two older men's questions, "But she'll probably be more accepting of that fact than me working for my father."

"Haven't I apologized enough for that?" Gendo asked, not liking the turn the conversation was taking.

"I'll let you know when it's enough dear." Yui said, patting her husband's arm. Turning to her son, she continued, "I can't argue with anything you told her about that old bastard." Gendo sighed, "But he is a very different man now, for which you are partially to blame. All the same, if you explain the situation clearly and completely, she will probably understand. She might even like the idea of dating a knight in not so shining amour."

Shinji groaned at the comment. He turned to his father, "Do you remember her being this incorrigible? 'Cause her memories seem to suggest this is new."

"She was always incorrigible." Gendo said. "But never to this degree." He shrugged, "Personally, I like it."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji didn't know what to say when his first girlfriend arrived later that day. He knew the thoughts behind it, but to actually form that into words that convey his love and concern was a whole 'nother story. And she would be here within the hour.

Section 2 had decided to survey the new arrivals, trying to give the savior of humanity a little warning about his impending doom. They were mostly of the mind that if Shinji Ikari decided to screw every woman in town, that was his business. But they also thought it might be interesting for him to explain to her why he lived with six other women at the moment. The teams assigned to protect that family would do their jobs, and if they just so happened to get a recording of the evenings fireworks, one way or the other, so be it.

When Misaki walked down the path from the end of the driveway to the door she had no less than ten sets of eyes on her. Another twenty were scanning for potential threats to the young woman. Finding none just made them look harder.

Shinji had twenty minutes warning that his first love had taken a cab to his place, and he was still a little jittery when the bell rang to announce his visitor.

He heard footsteps going in that direction as his mother spoke from a nearby couch, "Calm down son. You'll do fine, if you just show her the calm Shinji she fell in love with."

Taking her words to heart, the younger Ikari male closed his eyes and took a steadying breath. As he let it out all doubt and anxiety were pushed into a small closet of his mind that was promptly welded shut. He didn't know what was happening to him, but this was just weird. He hadn't acted like this in so long.

"Miss Misaki to see you Shinji." Rei said in a melodic voice.

Shinji turned to look at her and felt his voice flee from his throat. There, in his house, was standing the first girl he had ever loved. He nodded to Rei, "Thank you, Rei."

The blue haired girl led their guest to the couch where Shinji was sitting across from his parents.

Once she was seated, and Rei had left to presumably go gossip with the rest, Shinji turned to Misaki and spoke, "Misaki Ishii, I would like to introduce my parents, Yui and Gendo Ikari."

Taken a little aback, the girl looked between the older couple, "I thought you said your mother was dead and your dad was an asshole." She spoke with an accusing tone, wondering what else had been a lie.

Yui decided to take the implied questions, "Both points were essentially true a few months ago. I had been absorbed by a giant cybernetic organism, and Gendo was an asshole." She patted her husband's arm at his look of betrayal. "It is an accurate assessment of what you were like at the time."

"So what happened in a couple months to change all that?" Misaki asked.

"For starters, Shinji came here." Gendo began, knowing he had been a royal dick back then. It just stung a little to have his wife point it out. "He brought something here that had been missing for far too long. Hope."

"Shortly after I arrived, I was coerced into piloting an Evangelion, a giant cybernetic organism that is humanities only defense against the Angels." Shinji wasn't sure telling the whole story was the right thing to do, but at least it would help Misaki to realize why he had to be here. Her understanding was up to her after that.

"By coerced, he means blackmailed." Yui jumped in, "Gendo here made Shinji choose between him piloting the thing or Rei, that young woman who greeted you, even though she was half dead from an earlier piloting experience."

"After promising my father endless quantities of pain, I got into the Eva and managed to make contact with my mom's soul. She had been trapped in there during one of the first experiments with the mecha." Shinji continued.

"I asked him to give his father a chance, and that little shit started formulating a plan to get me out of there. We fought hard against that Angle, and won."

"Hold on a minute." Misaki interrupted, "Those giant robots are actually alive and can trap souls in them?"

Shinji smiled gently, "Yes love." He was testing the water to see if she would accept the affectionate title, "The Eva is a combination of Angel DNA and that of humans. Yui reverse engineered them from the original. Unfortunately, at that time no one understood how the mentality of such creatures would work."

Gendo picked up the narrative, "When my wife did the first full power synchronization test of the Eva there were several bad reactions. We hadn't implemented any limiters of the technology, leading to a complete merging of them. Her body, mind, and soul were all integrated into the Evangelion we called Unit-01."

"After I pushed past all the imposed limitations, I was able to merge with the Eva as well. After that I simply reversed the process for all three of us." Shinji paused for the inevitable question.

"You said three, who was the other?"

"The Eva. She didn't want to be alone anymore, So I modified her genome to become something like human. She now lives here with me and is named Lina."

Misaki hung her head, "Is she your girlfriend?"

"One of them." Shinji stated simply, "This is my home, and I live here with six other women. Five of them share a bed with me."

Misaki looked up at him in shock, "Five of them? You asshole. I can't get a single guy back home to take me, and you're here screwing five women. Why are you not fucking the last one? Is she not good enough for you?" She was crying, her body wracked with sobs, as she finished yelling at him.

Shinji wrapped his arms around her, holding his first girlfriend to his body as she let the emotions churned up by her frustration out. He glanced to his parent and they left the room.

As they left, the pilot rubbed slow circles on her back, trying to calm her. "I never meant to hurt you, but I did have to come here to get the answers I needed. After that, I don't know what happened. It just took shape, forming deeper bonds between us all."

"As for Asuka, I don't think she's ready for that kind of thing. She's been hurt too often when she lost people, especially her parents. Now she tries to hurt others first, so they won't get close enough to hurt her."

"Then why is she here?" Misaki asked, beginning to understand her love's thinking. This didn't stop the pain, just lessened it a bit.

"She needs a family. Someone she can come to when the world gets to be too much, who will simply be there to comfort her. Otherwise, when she tries to pilot an Eva it will break her mind." Shinji answered.

"So she's a pilot? How many are there?"

"Asuka, Rei, the girl that showed you in, and myself. It takes a specific type of mindset to achieve the generation of an AT field, so they're very rare."

"So you have to be pretty fucked up to be a pilot? No wonder they wanted you." She teased her ex and he chuckled at her verbal jab.

"You could say that. But the important thing is that there are only four people, including Lina, that can stand between the Angels and humanity. If we fall, the human race is finished. And it does have its price." Shinji flexed his free hand, thinking of how different he was from the last time he had held Misaki this close.

He loved the feeling of her petite body pressed against his, with her head resting on his shoulder. She had stopped crying and was now just resting in the safest place she had ever known.

"Can I stay?" Her question was only a whisper, as if a desperate prayer to the gods that she feared would be answered in the negative.

"Before I answer that, you have to understand what you are getting into." He led his first love to his office, his private sanctuary where none entered without permission as an unspoken rule. The fact that everyone that lived there always had permission was generally ignored by the other residents of the house.

Once behind his desk, Shinji sat Misaki on his lap and queued a series of videos on his computer. When they were comfortable he hit play. The first thing to be shown was Unit-01 howling in shared rage. As the behemoth threw itself at the third Angel the amount of force was obvious from the vast swaths of pavement ripping up behind it.

Slamming into the enemy's field, and the eventual neutralization of the target. The scenes of people being pulled from the wreckage of the pre-battle destruction, including a little girl Shinji knew to be Toji's sister. The dozens of dead that were laid out until they could be identified and claimed, a rolling field of white sheets. Misaki watched it all with terrified fascination, comprehension of the dangers of this city dawning on her with the last scene.

That clip ended and another began. This time it was a giant floating geometric shape firing an energy beam of unimaginable power at a black spot on a hill top not far away. Then the camera changed to show that behind, and powering, that dark place was Unit-01. From that place where not even light was powerful enough to escape, there lanced an even more massive beam. It caused the very air to explode in its passing, finally slamming into the alien being that had come to destroy.

Once again there were white sheets, this time covering the broken and mangled forms of the Section 2 double-agents that had been placed directly in the Angel's path. Shinji didn't mention that part, as he was hoping the fact that people had died would serve as a deterrent to his ex girlfriend.

More snippets of video followed these, including two young men writing on the ground while they clutched their eyes. Almost an hour later the brief history of Eva combat finished. Misaki let out a breath she didn't remember holding. She turned to look into her love's eyes and whispered, "You don't want me to stay?"

"It's up to you, but no. I could never forgive myself if you were hurt in one of the battles."

The young woman nodded, "Will you come for me when it's over?"

Shinji cupped her cheek and nodded, the depth of the promise clear in his eyes. The young pilot drew his once girlfriend into a deep kiss, wrapping his AT field around them like a warm, loving blanket. He used this connection to convey his emotions to the her while they kissed passionately.

When they separated, Misaki finally needing air, she clung to his neck, as if it was the only way for her to survive. "Can I stay with you, meet your family, for the next few days?"

"Sure. There's no attack expected for a while, and I think you'll love them as much as I do." He lead her out to the rest of the people that were considered his family.

ooo000OOO000ooo

That night, just as Shinji and his regular lovers had finished spending themselves, he suddenly reached out with his field and opened the door. This caused a very startled girl to come crashing through the now empty space that had been providing her support while she pleasured herself. Lina reached out and caught her in mid fall, gently levitating her toward the bed.

The former Eva said in a sultry tone, "You know, it's impolite to stand at the door and masturbate to us like that."

Misato grinned, "I wonder how we should punish her for her trespass?"

"I think it should be spankings." Ritsuko said.

Rei squealed, "Oh, can I help with the spankings?"

Maya looked at the terrified girl's face and bared her teeth in a feral gesture that might charitably be called a grin. "Only if I get to help too."

All of the women begged for Shinji to choose the one to deal out the punishment, Misaki floating helplessly the entire time. Finally he held up his hands, "I think each of you should take a turn spanking the bad little girl."

As her clothes were removed, the newest member of the family shuddered at the thought of what was about to happen. Then she was positioned on all fours and the punishment began. Lina took the first turn, not striking hard, but with her hand cupped for maximum sound. As the one being punished received her fifth strike a small whimper escaped her lips. Shinji snaked under her and buried his face between her slightly spread legs. She returned the service as Misato took up position to begin the next phase of the punishment.

This time, Misaki let out moans of pleasure each time her soft flesh was hit by a hand, and Shinji was returning the favor. By the time her punishment was over the rest of the team was ready for another round.

Around three in the morning, they were all spent again and exhaustion was truly setting in on the humans. Shinji and Lena were letting sleep claim them, despite having the ability to modify their metabolism against it.

Just as his eyes were closing there was a soft knock at the door.

He was instantly awake again, with his body manufacturing only what he needed to sharpen his senses. Removing himself from the pile of warm flesh, Shinji slipped a pair of shorts on and made his way to the door. Sliding it open a crack he found a bleary eyed red-head standing there with tears streaming down her face.

He knew that she often cried herself to sleep. Add to that the nightmares Asuka sometimes experienced that could cause her to wake suddenly in this condition and you had a very screwed up young woman. But he was working on easing her insecurities so the headstrong girl would one day open up to her family. Even if she wasn't one of his lovers, she was still family.

"What's wrong Asuka?" He asked in a soothing voice.

"I had a bad dream. The one with my mother again." her voice trembled with the emotions she tried to hold back, even in her half conscious state.

Shinji took her into a firm hug, letting her cry into his chest. He lead her slowly back to the bed and, using a gentle application of his field, placed them in the center of the group. Lina immediately snuggled up to the young woman and began pouring her love for the girl through her AT field, mirrored by Shinji as they settled.

Within five minutes the redhead pilot was fast asleep, though tears still leaked from her closed eyes. Both the angelic humans set their fields to insure she would have nothing but good dreams, and allowed sleep to claim them as well.

ooo000OOO000ooo

"How does he keep up with all of us?" Misaki asked the next morning as she, Maya, and Misato took their turn in the spacious bath.

Both of the others giggled before Misato answered, "He's not a normal human anymore."

"How did it happen?" The newest member of the family asked, "If you don't mind telling me."

Maya looked her in the eyes, "We don't bother with the regs around family. It all started with the battle against Ramiel, the octahedron of death." She elaborated and continued when Misaki indicated her understanding. "He pushed his sync ratio higher than was safe in order to make his plan work with the available power."

Misato picked up the tale here, "Blatantly disobeying orders the whole time. He ended up transmuting his blood into what we call an S2 organ. It's the power source all the Angels use. The next few weeks were a little hectic, with constant battles and him constantly discovering new facets to his powers. Then came the Battle with Sandalphon."

"That was the lava based one, right?" Misaki asked.

"Yeah." The bridge bunny answered. "During that fight there was a lot of confusion, especially with Rei and Asuka losing their power cords. Shinji managed to merge with the Eva, allowing him to use a weapon that no one thought could be copied. Afterwards, we didn't know how to get him back out of Unit-01, but it turned out we didn't have to bother. He managed to find his own way out, while also bringing his mother and Lina out with him."

"So Lina is actually this Unit-01?" Misaki asked, feeling that she may never run out of questions about her new family.

"Yes and no." Said Ritsuko as she entered the bath and sunk into the water between Misaki and Misato. "In her current form she is what we've come to call an angelic human. Her personality is still forming, so I expect her to become more expressive over the next few months. But she and our beloved can merge back into an Eva, giving them an insane amount of power and skill."

"I take it from your tone that this is rather abnormal." Misaki commented.

"Our boyfriend or the situation?" Misato asked, receiving giggles from the other three.

"Both." Maya stated. "Before he showed up, there were certain facts about the Evas that were taken on faith. Now, half of those have been thrown out the window, along with half the regulations governing the conduct of NERV personnel."

"I haven't heard about anyone complaining." Misato said.

"That's probably because you're the one they would have to complain to, as the Operation's Director." Ritsuko replied.

Misato waved a hand airily, "That doesn't mean I'm unapproachable. I wouldn't bite their heads off just because they decided to bitch about my personal life."

"Why do I get the impression that a lot of people are scared of you?" Maya inquired.

"It probably has something to do with her foul disposition toward a few people, at least before the Shinji got into her." Ritsuko teased her friend.

"You chew out a few people and all the sudden you're labeled for life. Even now, after I've found the ultimate mood altering stress reliever." Misato got a glassy grin as she thought about their lover.

"Uh oh," Maya said, "I think she's lapsed into pleasure meltdown again."

"Like you're one to talk." Misaki retorted playfully, "I saw you in the same state last night."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Misaki stayed on for a few days, enjoying the feeling of family that she felt toward all the other resident's of Shinji's home. Their goodbye had not been all that tearful, instead all the girls hugging and promising to look after themselves. Misaki also extracted a promise from the others to look after their man, and not let him do anything inordinately stupid without a good reason. The promise was slightly hollow with the fate of the world resting on his shoulders, but it was the thought that counted in this case.

Finally, she hugged and kissed Shinji deeply, making a silent promise for their next meeting, after all this unpleasantness was settled for good. He promised the same, in the same manner, and then let her go. As her car faded into the distance, he made another promise to himself, to not disappoint her no matter the cost.

The day after his newest harem member left Shinji started feeling the next Angel. The signal was so weak he almost didn't notice it, but it was just annoying enough to not be ignored. The real problem was the frequency. It hovered somewhere around the half-hertz range, with an amplitude that was quickly becoming unbelievable.

When they triangulated its position all the sensors swung to focus on a point in orbit, just inside that of the moon. At that kind of range they were useless, not even sensitive enough to resolve a definite AT signature.

As a satellite was retasked to the job, Shinji, Lina, and Yui all sat quietly. They were using their mental network to bounce information and ideas from two separate problems back and forth. One situation was of course the Angel, the other Rei. The search for a solution to her problem had not been without fruit, but it could be very dangerous for the young woman. They had uncovered over four hundred different traps worked into the girl's DNA, ranging from unstoppable progressions to neurotoxins that her own body would produce.

There were still times Shinji wanted to strangle his father for ordering this level of precaution, even though he understood the need at the time. They didn't know how this young woman would turn out. Because of that they wanted her dead if she ever awoke her Angel side.

Now it was unnecessary, but still a pain in the ass. Finally, Lina hit on an answer they could use to fix the problem. It was basically a modification of the way they merged to become Unit-01, and with three of them it should work even faster. All they had to do was to be sure to get every part of the modified code in one shot, or Rei would still die when she tried to develop new powers.

"I think I have an idea for dealing with this Angel." Shinji finally said to Misato as she came to check on their progress.

"And that would be?" The operations director prompted, knowing how her lover liked to explain things.

"We'll use the JSSDF's positron laser to assault it as it comes over the horizon. This should catch it totally off guard, punching through it's AT field in one shot." He answered.

"We suspect that this Angel, Sahaquiel, is going to use its AT field to amplify the destructive effect of a kinetic impact involving it's entire body." Yui said, almost as if she had been speaking the whole time.

Then Lina started, "This represents a major shift in their tactics, as this Angel is willing to act as a breaching charge. The next one would then have a much easier time of reaching Lilith and discovering the whereabouts of Adam."

Misato nodded with a crooked smile, "Okay, I'll make the calls to get everything set up for the operation. And could you guys stop doing the triplet speak thing? It's creepy."

Shinji's facial expression shifted into his unique smile while the others assumed their version of the gesture, signaling an end to their link. "Sorry about that Misato." He said, "It's just easier to think in parallel when trying to solve some problems."

"That doesn't make it any less disturbing." She retorted.

"Sorry." The three Angelic humans said in unison while smirking.

"Ahhh." Misato yelled in frustration while turning to leave. Just as she reached the door a wave of love enveloped her from the two she lived with. She paused and smiled warmly back at them, "I love you too, but that's still as weird feeling."

ooo000OOO000ooo

That night was something of an event at the youngest Ikari's estate. His whole family, including parents and Asuka, were gathered to offer moral support for what promised to be a momentous change in one of its members. There was little else they could do, and none of them would miss it.

Rei lay comfortably, as there was no telling how long this would take, in the center of the living room. Around her sat the three angelic humans, Shinji, Lina, and Yui. Sitting around the perimeter of the room were the rest of the family. All the furniture had been removed, save the thick pillows supporting everyone, to make room for all the occupants.

"Are you ready Rei?" All three asked as one, deeply linked just before beginning.

"Yes." Rei said simply and closed her eyes.

Three AT fields sprang to life, barely separated from each other and slightly encompassing the red-eyed pilot. The fields extended toward each other, eventually overlapping in a kaleidoscope of colors. The audience could sense the power emanating from the beings they all loved, though it felt like a calming breeze washing over them. The circles of energy finally grew to surround all four of the active participants, seeming to merge into one single field.

In the center of that space a column of energy formed, completely obscuring the blue haired girl from view. All the spectators had to shield their eyes against the intensity of the light, though they could still make out the silhouettes of the three near humans.

The light dimmed enough for them to chance a peek, revealing that the energy had resolved into what resembled twisted ribbons that seemed to sway like kelp, bathed in the ocean of energy. One by one, the ribbons started flowing up, a flash of light illuminating the room every few seconds. After a few minutes all 46 strands were moving at what most would have called an insane pace, the flashed appearing randomly as an error was corrected. The cascade of light was enough to drive several to look away after about a minute more.

Once it became apparent that the process was going to take a long time, several of the family members began quietly making their way out. In the end only Asuka still sat, memorized by the light show taking place.

All the rest ended up in the kitchen, where Ritsuko and Maya were preparing some snacks. Gendo came in sighing, "I'm starting to think there's nothing that group can't do."

"Feeling a little outclassed, fellow human?" Misato asked.

"Who wouldn't?" Ritsuko replied. "What those three are doing should be completely impossible. And it would be if not for their AT fields."

"Just think of what this means for our kids." Maya said, broaching a subject that had only been thought about before. "They could be the next stage of evolution, advancing the human race be at least a million years as they intermingle."

"I think you're underestimating them Maya." Ritsuko countered, " These kids are able to change their DNA at will, instantly if two of them work together. Sooner or later they will reach a point where they will no longer be compatible with humans. The best thing that humanity can hope for in that situation is a quick death."

"Unless they decide to leave the planet." Gendo added, "The Earth may be too small for beings like that. They'll probably decide to leave this world to humanity and head for the stars."

"The only reassuring part of all this is who their parents are. We'll at least have a chance to teach them right from wrong." Misato said somberly.

The mood didn't change much for the next hour, not until the five that had stayed behind came to join them.

"Okay, who died?" Shinji said as he stepped up to the counter, grabbing one of the last few items left over.

"We were just talking." Misato said.

"About how a new race will affect the rest of the people out there. I think you're right Dad, as soon as we finish off the Angels, we'll have to leave. I don't see any reason to wipe out or enslave humanity, so we might as well find somewhere else to set up shop."

"How do you feel Rei?" Ritsuko asked, concerned for her co-wife.

"Just thirsty." She answered. "I don't remember much about the process, except lying there feeling like I was wrapped in love. It's the most intimate thing I've ever felt."

Asuka blushed at that comment, feeling like she had violated her fellow pilot's privacy. Part of her cried out to feel that kind of love, and another very hurt part of her wanted to destroy that happiness. The confusion pushed her into inaction on this occasion, like so many other times.

"I take it from your expression, it worked?" Ritsuko inquired.

"Yeah, it worked." Shinji said, smiling broadly at their success. "I don't think it could have gone much better than it did, but we did run into a few problems."

"We found another layer of defenses once we got started." Yui went into detail. "It would have been even more dangerous, as it produced an enzyme that restored some of the old problems."

"One problem down, one left to go." The male pilot steered the conversation in a new direction. "How are the preparations going for the attack?"

"Pretty good," Misato answered. "The JSSDF isn't too happy about the whole thing, but they aren't complaining too much with the rifle being set up outside the city."

"We should be ready to initiate firing around an hour before the target comes into position." Gendo added. "Though we'll only have enough time for three shots before the angel is out of position."

Gendo continued, setting a portable holo projector on the counter, "If that doesn't work, we're ready to launch a massive N2 assault." Data scrolled by, showing the force numbers right next to a diagram of the planned detonation. "As a last resort, there is a plan on the table to attempt to use an overlapped AT field to try to catch the Angel."

Shinji frowned, "What about a direct intercept while the target is still in orbit?"

"It was deemed unacceptably dangerous." Misato answered. Noting the frown on Shinji and Lina's faces, she elaborated. "Since you are the only one who would be able to function, the lack of operational support would be unacceptable."

"Spoil sport." Shinji and Lina both pouted in unison, surprising everyone else with the somewhat childish reaction from the regularly mature individuals.

"Who is going to be doing the shooting?" Shinji asked.

"We were planning on you and Lina conducting that phase." Gendo responded.

"I would like Asuka to do it. She's proven herself reliable, and she also has more training with this kind of weapon system." He replied.

"Are you sure wonder boy? I thought you would like being in the spot light again." The fiery teen shot back.

"Had enough of that a few battles ago, your turn to have a near death experience."

Gendo blinked, "Very well, Pilot Soryu will be taking the shot." He eyed his son warily, "That means that both Unit-00 and Unit-01 will be on standby here in Tokyo-3 waiting for phase three."

"And that's the one where we catch the Angel, which will be falling out of orbit, with our AT fields." Rei commented.

"Should be fun, especially when it explodes just above our heads." Lina shot back, smirking at the prospect.

"If we're done here," Gendo began wrapping the evening up, "I think it's time to get going. The next few days are going to be very busy."

They all nodded, making their way toward the various places where they would spend the night.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Thanks to my friend Birga for proof reading this for me.


	19. Chapter19:Planned and Unplanned Activies

Hentai Shinji Chapter 19: Planned and Unplanned Activities

With power requirements for the positron rifle being roughly equal to the output of the nation of Japan, Gendo Ikari had put through an order requesting exactly that. The logistics involved were nightmarish, having to run massive numbers of huge cables across the entire length of the island, connecting to monitoring stations and connection hubs every few dozen miles. All these ran to a preselected location on the north face of Mount Fuji.

The place was chosen for several reasons. The first of these was the approach angle of the Angel. It was expected to come from the east, meaning that to attack required a flat platform with a clear view of the enemy. Constructing the platform at the site was unnecessary, since there was already one present, a left over relic from the time just after second impact. I large faction of the Japanese military had pooled their resources and constructed the bunker to use as a highly fortified and very defensible position from which they could restore order to the island nation.

The second reason for the placement was the roughly centralized location of the site. This allowed them to minimize the amount of power loss due to the inefficiency of waste heat and energy bleed. They were already border line on having enough energy without losing too much to preventable sources.

With all the preparations ready, all that remained was for Unit-02 and Asuka to arrive. Much of the site crew members were unsure why the most unruly of the pilots, if their information was accurate, had been selected for this mission. Their hero, Shinji, would have been their choice, given his disposition and charismatic personality. Unfortunately, for them at least, they were not consulted.

The younger Ikari actually had a good reason for the assignment. The red headed pilot had been training with this kind of equipment; specifically the MAGI assisted targeting, for the majority of her life. This meant that she would be the most comfortable, ensuring the best results.

Suddenly a red shape came blurring out of the sky, hitting the ground near the installation hard enough to tear a shallow furrow out of the hard granite. Unit-02 stood out of the dust cloud and began making its way toward the sniping position.

All of the site personnel were expecting some flourish or performance from the brash pilot, and had to reconsider those assumptions with the clipped and precise movements the lumbering form of the Eva used to slide in directly behind the weapon.

As soon as Unit-02 was settled, Asuka locked the position and opened the com link, "This is Pilot Soryu, ready for umbilical attachment. And hurry it up."

"Keep your plug suit on Asuka." Misato answered from the on-site command post. "The umbilical is almost in place. Then we'll start charging the rifle to fire. Remember, we will only get three shots before the Angle is out of position."

"Yeah, I know. Let's just get this started already." Asuka whined.

The various electrical connections were made, beginning the charging process and bringing the massive weapon to full power for the first time. Steam began forming around the cooling towers as the enormous flow of electricity coursed through the huge cables.

Asuka leaned back on her control couch while the targeting system deployed to cover her head. The information was streaming in too fast for her to follow, but complete comprehension wasn't absolutely necessary. The only thing she had to do was wait for the two targeting symbols to come together and then squeeze the trigger. The MAGI were handling the micro adjustments to the hydraulics used to line the barrel up on the target they were also tracking.

It actually annoyed the redhead that this operation didn't require more skill, keeping her discomfort to herself for a change. In situations like this you followed orders without question. One slip up could cost the lives of those she cared for, though she refused to call the emotion love. Rei, Misato, Ritsuko, Maya, Lina, even the Baka, Shinji, and her Mother. They had all come to mean so much to her, finally giving her a reason to fight. 'For Family' She thought, 'That's why I do this. For them'

"Are you ready Asuka?" Misato called quietly over the comm link.

"As ready as I'll ever be." She enthusiastically answered.

The targeting reticule that represented the enemy, a small triangle, cleared the horizon, though it still had another millimeter before it would line up with the other one, three double lines radiating from a single point, that indicated the path of the beam at intercept.

Asuka ran through a quick checklist of the procedures that were about to be initiated. Fire the rifle, reload the fuses, begin charging for next shot, wait for the indicators to merge, fire the rifle again. Given the distances involved with this attack, there was a very good chance that she would fire the third shot before the first one even hit the target. The scientists and engineers on the project had said that the velocity of the beam was high, but they were unsure what effect such a long trip through the atmosphere would have on the beam's electro-magnetic containment or what kind of drag they could expect from all sorts of sources, including the Earth's magnetic field. The containment failure worried Asuka, since it would lead to a line of matter-antimatter explosions streaking across the sky, possibly all the way back to her position. Her AT field would protect Unit-02, but Misato was here. She would not allow any harm to come to her family, even if it cost her own life. The pilot just wished that she could have met the right guy so that, if she died, it would not be as a virgin.

The indicators merged and a new symbol blinked. Asuka barely thought about squeezing the trigger in her hand, reacting out of rote training more than conscious action. There was a fraction of a second's delay and then the world went white.

The glare filters on the optical sensors kicked in to keep it from being a blinding flash, but it was hard to make out any details while the weapon was firing. As soon as the light started fading she was changing out the fuses. Now came the waiting again.

A little bit faster than she had expected, by about a full second, the reticule began blinking again. She squeezed the trigger again and the process repeated.

One more shot and she thought it would be over, but the targeting system didn't retract and the power was building again for a fourth shot. Again by reflex, she squeezed the trigger at the right moment, having mechanically replaced the fuses without realizing it.

This time the headset did pull back, allowing her to see the seemingly transparent skin of the entry plug. She called up a video feed from the satellites monitoring the Angel. It showed nothing out of the ordinary until a lance of energy slammed into an area of folded space, revealing the telltale octagonal pattern.

The two titanic forces warred with each other for a few moments, until the beam petered out and the shield configured AT field faded from view. Then it happened again, this time seeming to be marginally more violent than the last. The third shot caused some fluctuations in the defensive barrier, almost as though it would decide that this was the time to get through. The fourth, and much unexpected, shot caught the shield and began raking down its surface before expending the last of the massive amount of energy on open space.

Asuka sighed, "Well," She said as the comm window opened, "It was a long shot at best. Wasn't it Misato?"

"Yeah it was. Hopefully the N2 barrage will be more effective." The operations director answered with the sound of frantic motion behind her. "We better get ready to go kiddo. They'll need all of us back in Tokyo-3 if it doesn't."

"Just curious, how was it that we got that extra shot, I thought there was just barely enough time for three." The pilot asked as she began the trek down to the special train they would use for the return trip.

"The numbers were just barely short of four, I suppose it got garbled in transition, and no one took into account the boost that two fully active S2 organs would provide. Shinji and Lina transformed to give us the best chance of this phase working by lending what they could to the energy flow."

"That sounds like Shinji, always trying to save people." There was an uncomfortable silence that stretched before Asuka spoke again. "Misato?"

"Yeah, Asuka?"

"Do you think that's why he took me in, to save me?"

The older woman sighed, "He saw someone else that suffered a grievous loss as a child, and he can't just turn a blind eye to that. It's not so much that he wanted to save you, as he wanted to give you the environment where you could save yourself. When you're ready."

Asuka considered this for a moment, "Not just yet, but I feel it coming. And thank you."

Deep within Unit-02 a human consciousness stirred, rejoicing at the fact that her daughter had people that loved her. The experiment that caused Kyoko Zeppelin Soryu to exist in this state was the worst day of her life. For a long time she had raged against her prison, knowing that the chances of her getting out were remote. The knowledge that her little girl would grow up without her broke the woman's heart, making her fight all the harder. In the end, she had resigned herself to the position of physical guardian over her own child, protecting the pilot when they would go into combat.

Still it hurt, not being able to hold her child and comfort Asuka through this process. It hurt so much, and this too motivated her to protect that girl so that she would have the chance to get through it.

ooo000OOO000ooo

The next part of the operation wasn't very far away. Since they had a solid track on the enemy's position, NERV operations had been able to get a large fraction of their stock of N2 mines directly into the Angel's path. The wave of death would soon envelope the target in the energy released by the strongest non-nuclear explosive ever developed by man.

Ritsuko was overseeing this phase of the operation, as the commander and sub-commander were busy tending to the minutiae of keeping the Eva project running. She had already run the numbers three times, checking all the figures as new data came in. In a few seconds, the blond scientist would push a button and watch as they tried to erase an advanced life form from the face of reality.

In those few moments, waiting to unleash death at its most pure, she considered all the arguments against taking a life that had been drilled into her during her early education. In this case, while the life was in some way still sacred, it had no right to wipe humanity away to accomplish its goals. And she was the right hand of God that was going to make sure it didn't get the chance.

The button press surprised her, as she thought it would be harder to detonate that large a mass of explosives. The slight light speed lag resulted in a half second between the press and the video feed washing out with light and noise. It was like watching a new sun being born, only this was a sphere of annihilation, not matter restructuring fusion.

The signal was interrupted as the satellites were momentarily blanketed in electromagnetic energy. When it came back, the shape of the enemy was still discernible amongst the huge background of charged gasses left behind.

The picture resolved as the energy cloud dissipated, revealing the shape of the Angel completely intact, with its AT field flickering back into position.

"So much for plan B." The science director sighed, "Let Shinji and Rei know that it's on them now. And get the MAGI started on probable impact zones so they don't have to tear up half the city to get into position." Ritsuko was very happy that they could track the Angel, as it gave them at least some predictive ability.

ooo000OOO000ooo

"Acknowledged." Shinji responded to the update, "Open the relay to the MAGI so we can get started refining our position as soon as they know anything."

"Already on it, Shinji. Be careful out there, both of you." Ritsuko replied before severing the connection.

Rei spoke over the cockpit comms, "It looks like the deployment zone they already have is on the south side of the city."

"Probably expecting Asuka to get back before all the fun starts" He commented, "And they expect me to be able to cover half the city on my own, damn machines."

"It is within your abilities, as you're the only one among us who can fly."

"I know, but it might be nice, just once, if they didn't assume that I wanted to push myself that hard." He raised a hand to forestall the coming argument, "I know that I volunteered to go up and fight the thing while it was still in orbit. That's different though. I don't have to worry about holding back up there, unlike on the ground. Down here I have to be careful or half the buildings could be flattened."

There was a mild hiss of static as Rei encrypted the channel, "You do know that there is nothing they can do to keep you on the ground?"

"It would worry the others." He responded. "And dad would be pissed at me for making mom worry. I'll admit that I might keep the fighting out of the city, but there's no guarantee that I would stand half a chance against that thing, especially not after all those N2 mines failed to make a scratch."

"The difference between a scalpel and a hammer. Each has its uses, but only one can be used for such precise work as surgery, even though it would never work to drive a nail into a wall." Rei spoke calmly, but Shinji could tell that she really wanted him to do this.

"I know that I have a better chance with an AT field, but that still doesn't mean I want to risk it not working. It would be bad for my image after all. And while we're at it, when did you decide to start living out your rebellious impulses vicariously through me?"

"Until I can accomplish the same feats I have little choice, though I do intend to start doing it myself soon."

"So it doesn't really matter if we decide to disobey orders or not? Great, it's a good thing we were planning to do this anyway." The sound of sighing could be heard over the link, "Tell the others that we'll be okay and we'll be back in time to help if this doesn't work."

"I will." Rei answered.

With that, Unit-01 crouched down, ejecting the power cable that had allowed Tokyo-3 to tap it for extra power, and reality seemed to charge around it. The launch was impressively non-destructive, with only a few household power lines fluttering from the force.

Shinji and Lina rode the jump for just over a thousand feet, coming to rest in mid-air as gravity fought their ascent. The giant black form didn't fall after stopping, instead curling into a ball as it's back rippled. Suddenly a pair of glowing gold energy wings sprouted through the flesh and armor, making the Eva resemble a dark angel of death.

The merged consciousness flexed the new appendages experimentally, getting a feel for them as they hung above the fortress city. Then the wings raised and seemed to catch in the very fabric of reality on the way back down, causing the light to distort around them, and Unit-01 shot skyward once more at an even higher velocity.

It took almost ten minutes to reach their objective, speeding up as they continued through the thinning atmosphere. The Angel seemed to take notice of them as they approached, slowing its advance to feed more energy into defense. Shinji aimed for the central eye that housed the Angel's core.

The strength of Sahaquiel's AT field was a little surprising, even after the N2 detonation, as it stopped the black Eva cold. The two areas of folded and compressed space clashed with a titanic release of energy, neutralizing each other while reality seemed to protest. Shinji ran the numbers quickly and found that their field would be the first to go, leaving them vulnerable to attack until they disengaged.

Then the Angel took the initiative, whipping one of its long arms around and sending a small piece flying straight at its assailant. They pulled back, both fields snapping back to full power, and the projectile impacted on the Eva's barrier. The explosion would have been enough to end Unit-01 if not for the quick reaction, as the projectile held a weak AT field around its surface.

Lina roared in challenge at their enemy, drawing two of the shoulder blades that were a natural part of their armor. 'No, Lina.' Shinji thought, 'It won't work. This thing is too powerful for us to take on our own.'

'What are you saying Shinji? We can't just give up.' She answered through their bond, 'What about the others? We have to try for them.'

'I want to protect them as much as you do, Love. But I still don't think this will work, Sahaquiel's field is just too strong for our power to harm it.'

'I'm still going to try. Even if it doesn't work, we'll know we did everything we could.'

'Indeed.'

The small blades began charging during their almost instantaneous dialogue, coming to full power a few seconds later. The low particle density of the region would limit the overall effectiveness of the charged particle beams generated by the attack, but it would still be powerful.

As the containment fields reached their failure point two pencil thin beams shot out at nearly the speed of light, striking the field only inches apart and angled to hit the monstrosity behind dead center. The energies at work here warred with each other for an eternity of a few seconds. Finally, the blasts faded, their energy spent, and the Angel's AT field still held.

Lina triggered another charging cycle, refusing to give up on killing the enemy. Shinji resigned himself to letting this go on for a short time longer, as long as it didn't endanger them. Sahaquiel had other plans though.

Just as the weapons were coming to full charge again it launched two more projectiles, one from each arm, at them. They were forced to waste the energy weapons on defense to keep from being the gooey filling in an explosion sandwich.

The next cycle drew even more power, as both the minds of Unit-01 were becoming agitated, Lina with her adversary and Shinji with Lina. This time it was too much, as their glowing wings flickered momentarily.

'This is the last chance Lina. We won't be able to maintain this position if we commit any more energy.' Shinji commented as they fired again.

The energy release was once more spectacular, but yielded the same result.

Lina began to succumb to her former nature, raging impotently against Sahaquiel. Shinji concentrated on cutting through her anger, finally reaching her, 'Lina love, it's time to go back now. We can't do this without the other's help. Calm down please.'

He felt his other half sigh in resignation, regaining control of her emotions, 'I know. I just hate to let this thing any closer to our home.'

Unit-01, unsuccessful but not beaten, turned and began the descent back to Tokyo-3. The beat of its wings seeming somewhat less enthusiastic as the Angel launched a single projectile into the atmosphere on a ballistic trajectory.

ooo000OOO000ooo

"Okay everyone, Shinji and Lina are heading back and the Angel has started lobbing test shots at us." Ritsuko said from the command deck. "We know where it is and can figure on an attack once it finishes correcting its error ratio, so be ready to handle any damage it might cause in the mean time."

Everyone in Central Dogma nodded and hustled back into action. Maya glanced at her lover and asked, "How much trouble are Shinji and Lina going get into for their actions?"

The blond scientist sighed, "If they hadn't mentioned the plan before hand, and it hadn't been shot down, they probably could have gotten off with a slap on the wrist. But since they were specifically told no and did it anyway, it will depend on how forgiving the Commander is."

"You know," Shigeru Aoba said, "A few months ago I might have been worried about that, but since he got his wife back he seems much mellower."

"True enough, and the fact that Shinji is the one that brought her back will probably help too." Ritsuko replied, "But that doesn't excuse those two for disobeying orders. I'm tempted to throw the book at them myself."

"You were worried, weren't you?" Maya asked, receiving a nod from her housemate, "So was I. But this is the way he is. Even if he does take risks, he is always doing it because he cares, try to remember that Ritsuko."

"I know." She whispered. "I just wish we didn't have to keep sending our loved ones out to fight this damn war."

A screen flashed on, displaying Unit-01 coming in for a fast landing somewhere in the city. Ritsuko was sure they would plow into the ground, and probably through several layers of armor, at their current speed.

The black Eva spread its wings, tearing to a stop just a few meters above the ground. Unit-01 fell the final distance and landed lightly on the ground, something thought impossible for an object its size.

The comm channel opened and the duel voice could be heard again, "I know you're gonna be pissed at us Ritsuko, but you know we had to do it. Anyway, we failed to stop it, mainly due to power restrictions, so the ground plan should work. No damage incurred on the attempt, so we're ready to redeploy."

"You're not going to get out of this by talking fast, you two." Ritsuko shot back. "Get to your assigned positions and I'll let Misato and Gendo deal with the punishment."

"Thanks, Ritsuko. Just throw us to the wolves why don't you?" The combined consciousness said back sarcastically.

"Just get to your post." The blond said, her voice softening, "And thanks for coming back in one piece."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Sahaquiel finished correcting its error ratio, after having dropped over a half dozen smaller projectiles on Japan. It was now ready to destroy those keeping Lilith from them. This type of attack was a departure from the Angel's usual tactics, as it involved one of them sacrificing itself for the good of the others, but it was a necessary step in wiping out the Lilim infestation of the planet.

The abomination that had come to directly challenge the large orbital creature had been a perfect example of that infection. The vile creatures had first perverted the Angels, and then corrupted themselves as well. The creature was powerful, but too generalized to be truly effective in a frontal assault.

Now all the resistance would be erased, in one last act that Sahaquiel would perform to ensure the victory of the rightful owners of this world.

It was time.

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji and Lina felt the sudden change in the Angel's output just before the announcement came over the channel. "Do you have an impact zone yet?" they asked, itching for action.

"Sending projection updates now." Both the Eva's received the data and sprinted toward each other.

Unit-00 was jumping over obstacles, such as houses and concrete walls, while Unit-01 just somersaulted into the air and spread its wings again. Unsurprisingly, the black Eva was the first to reach the designated coordinates, raising its hands toward the falling enemy.

The air wavered as golden wings faded into nothing and the merged beings that made up Unit-01 pushed their AT fields into the heavens, forming a shallow cone between themselves and the Angel.

Rei arrived a second later and merged her own field into the energy matrix. She was surprised at how easy it was to tune and control her field now that she didn't have to concentrate on keeping her sync ratio down below the safety threshold. The combined field seemed to vibrate with power, sending reverberations out into the area surrounding Tokyo-3.

Finally their prey came into sight, seeming to hover as it fell toward them at a speed in excess of its terminal velocity. Then the sonic boom hit the energy barrier and they realized how fast the creature had been going a short time ago. A cloud dissolved in the shockwave directly proceeding the monstrously large shape, acting as further proof.

The angel swelled, filling their vision with the orange of its body, followed by the red of it's exposed core that resolved as it fell.

Suddenly, the creature stopped. It hung in the air directly above the octagonal pattern of an AT Field interaction. A voice came over the comm channel, "Hey, wonder boy, haven't you dealt with that thing by now?"

Unit-01 smiled broadly as their sensors indicated the approaching ally and friend. "About time you showed up, rookie." He called back playfully, "Grab a spear, hightail your red ass over here, and stick this thing."

"Roger." The professional side of the fiery pilot responded before she could even think. She sent the mental request for the weapon, indicating what port it should appear at. Unit-02 didn't even slow down as it snatched the long handled blade from the rack, only slighting twisting the metal of the structure in the process, and continued toward the engagement point.

Theoretically, she could attack any location where the target's field was weak enough for the point to penetrate, but practice told her otherwise. When the progressive device left her hand it would immediately begin losing power, meaning that it's penetration would be extremely limited. She was only going to get one shot at this thing, and to maximize effect, she would need to be directly beneath it.

As the red Eva came to a halt next to its comrades the tip of its spear began to glow. That glow became a blinding light as Asuka pushed more power through the device, exceeding the specifications for proper functioning by at least fifty percent.

Just as the weapon was about to overload, already showing the beginnings of stress fractures, it shot skyward. The cancelation phase-space that marked the interaction between the massive defensive fields rippled briefly with its passing, though this quickly vanished. Replacing it was the huge form of the Angel, now dead with a hole through its core, coming to rest on the combined fields from Units-00 and 01.

It hung there for a moment, seeming to be almost peaceful after the death dive it had taken from the heavens, before exploding. The energy of the blast was directed mostly upward by the curved surface it rested on. This had the effect of causing no collateral damage, with even the smallest pieces of the alien life form being vaporized in the explosion.

Unit-01 glanced around, making sure that there was no damage from the blast, when he noticed the power levels of Unit-02 dropping quickly. The black form moved to support its comrade, catching the listing form.

Setting the disabled mecha on the ground, something caught Shinji's attention. He focused their sensors on a building with the traditional architecture of a temple, with its door half open. Inside he could see the form of a bronze statue, and his enhanced senses allowed him to make out the details of the shape.

"I'm so gonna kill those two." Unit-01 growled in Shinji's voice.

"What was that Shinji?" Rei asked, not quite sure what she had heard.

"Direct your sensors toward that temple up on the hill. Toji and Kensuke are dead as soon as I see them."

Shinji could feel Lina suppressing a giggle in the back of their mind. He directed a thought at her, "You think this is funny? They even managed to get you in there."

"I think it's flattering that they think of you as some sort of sex god defender of the city. I find it hilarious that you are taking offense at the prospect." Unit-01 let out a girlish giggle, or as girlish as you can get with a giant, sentient, bioweapon.

Rei was smiling from ear to ear, but Shinji could tell that she wanted to burst into tearful laughter, especially at the antics of the female half of the fused psyche.

He opened a com line to headquarters and was dismayed to hear more laughter as his response. "Can someone please open a retrieval hatch?" His irritated tone made it clear that he was less then amused by the situation.

"Sure thing." Maya answered after taking a moment to compose herself.

Oh, Shinji was so killing those two as soon as he could. To hell with the regs about killing civilians, they could just be the two casualties of this fight. They hadn't had any of those in a while.

Lina nearly caused Unit-01 to double over with how hard she was laughing at her lover. She said mockingly, "A hero's work is never done."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Shinji stood over the begging forms of his two friends. They had returned to their temple following the attack to find the pilot waiting for them with a can marked "Thermite" in his hands.

"We're so sorry Shinji." Aida said, nearly bursting into tears at the rage in Shinji's eyes.

Toji looked up, "It's not what you think anymore man. It's more of a fan club now."

The furious pilot just continued to glare at his former classmates.

The spectacled youth decided to try one more ploy, "We've been trying to help out, making sure that people are staying safe during an attack and stuff like that."

Toji held his hands up and pleaded, "Please don't burn down the place, it's great for all sorts of things."

Shinji couldn't keep his face straight any longer and started laughing at their antics. Something seemed to break in Kensuke as he held up his hands defensively, "He's snapped. We're all gonna die. Game over man."

This only made the pilot cackle harder, falling to his knees in the cathartic release. He finally got himself back under control, and addressed the pair, "I'm sorry guys. I was really pissed a couple hours ago, when I first learned about this place, but it's okay now. I took a peak at the Section 2 files and found out what I could. I heartily approve."

"You mean that you never intended to torch the place?" Toji half screamed, so relieved that his anger couldn't even get a good start.

"Not really, but the thought of making you two suffer had a lasting appeal to it." The smirk on Shinji's face had softened, letting his friends know that they were safe now.

The Eva pilot took a seat with the statue behind him, deliberately not mimicking the position of the bronze. He looked quite different now, having aged physically by a few years, but his eyes shone with the same confidence. "So tell me how you've been. It's been a while since we had a chance to just sit and talk."

ooo000OOO000ooo

Thanks to Birga for proofreading this for me.


End file.
